Bleach Drinking

2004catchphraseclassic

Bleach Drinking is an online insult where users tell each other to 'drink bleach' as a harsher version of 'kill yourself,' first cataloged on Urban Dictionary in 2004 and later spawning a wave of YouTube shock and prank videos through the mid-2010s.

shock humor memesdangerous challenge memesdark humor memesurban dictionary memestrolling memes

Overview

Bleach Drinking is an internet insult where users tell each other to 'drink bleach' as a blunter substitute for 'kill yourself'2. Household bleach contains sodium hypochlorite, a chemical that is genuinely poisonous when swallowed, giving the taunt its edge1.

The joke has a visual side as well. Starting in the early 2010s, YouTubers posted shock clips of themselves appearing to swig from Clorox bottles, though most household bleach is too dilute to cause the graphic reactions those videos show5. Photoshopped Clorox stock images and captioned reaction photos on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook round out the format.

How It Spread

Video content pulled the phrase into wider view starting in 2012. YouTuber Caspar Sanderson uploaded a 'Bleach Challenge' clip on February 8th, appearing to drink from a bottle and then vomit blood3. Attention spiked that October after the death of Canadian teenager Amanda Todd, who had tried to end her life by drinking bleach weeks before her suicide but survived that first attempt after having her stomach pumped4.

The shock-and-prank format widened through 2015. On July 17th, Stomedy uploaded a video pretending to swig Clorox after a commenter told him to 'drink bleach and die,' pulling over 289,000 views within 13 months3. Ben Phillips followed on August 17th with a prank convincing a friend he had accidentally swallowed bleach, hitting 2.1 million views in one year. That same summer, HowStuffWorks published a July 2nd explainer noting most household bleaches carry fairly low sodium hypochlorite concentrations and are less immediately dangerous than the videos suggested5.

By 2016 the insult was mainstream meme material. LeafyIsHere reposted Stomedy's footage in an April 15th video titled 'The Most Savage Man Drinks Bleach on YouTube,' pulling 3.9 million views and 64,900 comments in four months3. Confused newcomers asked why everyone was suddenly saying it on r/OutOfTheLoop that May, while Instagram feeds fruitoftheloin and Royaltweets pushed photoshopped bleach jokes including a shot of a young girl pouring 'one last drink before school starts,' echoing the same verbal insult Urban Dictionary had cataloged a decade earlier2.

How to Use This Meme

The insult form typically shows up as a short imperative reply, 'drink bleach' or 'go drink bleach,' aimed at a user the poster finds insufferable2. The visual template commonly pairs a Clorox bottle or a poured glass of bleach with a mundane caption about school, work, or family, playing off the gap between an everyday complaint and a lethal reaction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bleach Drinking

2004catchphraseclassic

Bleach Drinking is an online insult where users tell each other to 'drink bleach' as a harsher version of 'kill yourself,' first cataloged on Urban Dictionary in 2004 and later spawning a wave of YouTube shock and prank videos through the mid-2010s.

shock humor memes dangerous challenge memes dark humor memes urban dictionary memes trolling memes

Overview

Bleach Drinking is an internet insult where users tell each other to 'drink bleach' as a blunter substitute for 'kill yourself'2. Household bleach contains sodium hypochlorite, a chemical that is genuinely poisonous when swallowed, giving the taunt its edge1.

The joke has a visual side as well. Starting in the early 2010s, YouTubers posted shock clips of themselves appearing to swig from Clorox bottles, though most household bleach is too dilute to cause the graphic reactions those videos show5. Photoshopped Clorox stock images and captioned reaction photos on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook round out the format.

How It Spread

Video content pulled the phrase into wider view starting in 2012. YouTuber Caspar Sanderson uploaded a 'Bleach Challenge' clip on February 8th, appearing to drink from a bottle and then vomit blood3. Attention spiked that October after the death of Canadian teenager Amanda Todd, who had tried to end her life by drinking bleach weeks before her suicide but survived that first attempt after having her stomach pumped4.

The shock-and-prank format widened through 2015. On July 17th, Stomedy uploaded a video pretending to swig Clorox after a commenter told him to 'drink bleach and die,' pulling over 289,000 views within 13 months3. Ben Phillips followed on August 17th with a prank convincing a friend he had accidentally swallowed bleach, hitting 2.1 million views in one year. That same summer, HowStuffWorks published a July 2nd explainer noting most household bleaches carry fairly low sodium hypochlorite concentrations and are less immediately dangerous than the videos suggested5.

By 2016 the insult was mainstream meme material. LeafyIsHere reposted Stomedy's footage in an April 15th video titled 'The Most Savage Man Drinks Bleach on YouTube,' pulling 3.9 million views and 64,900 comments in four months3. Confused newcomers asked why everyone was suddenly saying it on r/OutOfTheLoop that May, while Instagram feeds fruitoftheloin and Royaltweets pushed photoshopped bleach jokes including a shot of a young girl pouring 'one last drink before school starts,' echoing the same verbal insult Urban Dictionary had cataloged a decade earlier2.

How to Use This Meme

The insult form typically shows up as a short imperative reply, 'drink bleach' or 'go drink bleach,' aimed at a user the poster finds insufferable2. The visual template commonly pairs a Clorox bottle or a poured glass of bleach with a mundane caption about school, work, or family, playing off the gap between an everyday complaint and a lethal reaction.

Frequently Asked Questions