The term is derived from the
1978 cult suicide in
Jonestown,
Guyana.
Jim Jones, the leader of the
Peoples Temple, persuaded his followers to move to Jonestown. Late in the year he ordered his followers to commit suicide by drinking grape-flavored
Flavor Aid laced with
potassium cyanide. A camera from inside the compound shows a large chest being opened, clearly showing boxes of both
Flavor Aid and
Kool-Aid.
[4] There is also testimony from criminal investigators at the Jonestown inquest stating that there were "cool aid" (sic) packets there.
[5] It is unknown whether these are a reference to the
Kool-aid brand packets from the trunk, or simply a generic use of the more popular brand for the product. In what is now commonly called the "
Jonestown Massacre", a large majority of the 913 people later found dead drank the brew. (The discrepancy between the
idiom and the actual occurrence is likely due to Flavor Aid's relative obscurity, compared to the easily recognizable Kool-Aid.) The precise expression can be attested in usage at least as early as 1987.
[6]
The saying "Do not drink the Kool-Aid" now commonly refers to the Jonestown tragedy, meaning "Do not trust any group you find to be a little on the kooky side," or "Whatever they tell you, do not believe it too strongly."
[7] Fox News commentator
Bill O'Reilly is famous for using the term in this manner.
[8]
Having "drunk the Kool-Aid" also refers to being a strong or fervent believer in a particular philosophy or mission — wholeheartedly or blindly believing in its virtues.