THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 18

What is the origin of the expression “Drink the Kool-aid, and how does it relate to blind, unthinking obedience?

Subject:  Groupthink - “Drink the Kool-Aid”

Event:  The Jonestown Massacre, 1978

 

Today marks the anniversary of a tragic event that gave birth to the expression “drinking the Kool-Aid.”  People use this idiomatic expression to negatively characterize someone who they feel is blindly and unthinkingly following a person or ideology.  As with many idiomatic expressions or dead metaphors (expressions that mean something different from the literal meaning of the individual words), most have forgotten the ghastly historical events that led to the phrase.

On November 18, 1978, 900 members of the Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church, formerly located in California, committed mass suicide at their Jonestown settlement in Guyana, South America.  Under the direction of their leader Reverend Jim Jones, the congregation, which included 300 children, drank a powdered soft drink laced with cyanide.  This tragic display of blind obedience to a cult leader was sparked by the visit of U.S Congressman Leo Ryan, who was investigating allegations of human rights abuses at Jonestown.  After ordering his gunmen to kill Ryan and a group of journalists who accompanied the congressman on the trip, Jones embarked on his final desperate act, ordering his followers to ingest the poison. Jones, himself, was found dead the next day of a self-inflicted gunshot wound (1).

It should be noted that there was a survivor of the Jonestown Massacre.  Her name was Diane Louise.  Prior to November 18, Louise had been determined to maintain her independence, resisting Jones’ special favors, such as special food on one occasion when she became sick.  When Jones ordered his people to gather on November 18, she disobeyed the command and fled Jonestown by retreating to the jungle (2).

                                                                    Image by Eak K. from Pixabay 

Usually, the exploration of the history or etymology of an idiomatic expression does not yield a specific known origin, much less a specific date as in “drink the Kool-Aid.”  Often an idiom’s origin derives from myth, folklore, literature, or legend, and often there are a number of competing stories behind the phrase’s origin.  For example, one idiom “the whole nine yards,” has several possible origins according to The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:

the amount of cloth required to make a complete suit of clothes; the fully set sails of a three-masted ship where each mast carries three yards, that is, spars, to support the sails; or the amount of cement (in cubic yards) contained in a cement mixer . . . . (3).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What is the origin of the expression “Drink the Kool-Aid”?

Challenge:  What’s the Story?:  What origins of idiomatic expressions have you heard about, or what origins have you wondered about?  The list of expressions below all have their origins in a specific historical time period. select one, and do some research to find the story behind the idiom.  You may not be able to find a specific date, but you should be able to find a general time period from which the expression came.  Based on your research, write the story behind the expression as well as a brief explanation of the expression’s meaning as it is used today.

cross the Rubicon, jump the shark, push the envelope, a Pyrrhic victory, read the riot act, red tape, turn a blind eye, voted off the island

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

November 18, 1883:  Prior to the emergence of railroads in the 19th century, time was not standardized.  Instead, each town established its own time.  Train travel, however, required a standard timetable, both for safety and for efficiency of operation.  On this day across the United States, railroad clocks were set to a standard time, even those that had already passed noon.  Today, therefore, is known as the “Day of the Two Noons” (4).

Sources:

1-Higgins, Chris. The 35th Anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre. Mental Floss.com 8 Nov. 2012.

2-Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York:  Harper Business, 2021: 42.

3-Ammer, Christine. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms.

New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003: 713.

4-Library of Congress.  “The Day of the Two Noons.”