# Hard Pill to Swallow > Hard Pill to Swallow is a 2018 object-labeling image-macro meme featuring WikiHow stock images of pills, overlaid with uncomfortable truths people resist. Hard to Swallow Pills is an object labeling meme format built from two WikiHow stock images: one showing a person reading a pill bottle labeled "Hard Pills to Swallow," and another showing pills in someone's hand labeled with an uncomfortable truth. The format originated from a WikiHow article in August 2017 and went viral on Reddit in February 2018[1]. It belongs to a family of "pill" memes that use medicine as a metaphor for difficult truths people don't want to accept[3]. ## Origin The two source images come from a WikiHow article titled "How to Lower Myostatin Levels," published on August 17, 2017[3]. The images were standard WikiHow illustrations showing someone examining a pill bottle and holding pills. Within about six months, the article had received more than 19,000 views[3]. Nobody treated the images as meme material until early 2018. On February 21, 2018, Reddit user The_New_Phone11 posted the first known meme version to r/meirl[3]. The edit turned the pill bottle label into "hard to swallow pills" and wrote "casual conversation does mean she likes you" on the pills. The post picked up around 300 points with a 98% upvote rate[3]. - **Platform:** WikiHow (source images), Reddit (meme format) - **Creator:** The_New_Phone11 (original Reddit poster), LeNegolossauro (viral repost) - **Date:** 2018 ## Overview The meme uses a two-panel format. The first panel shows a person holding and reading a pill bottle with the label "Hard to Swallow Pills" (or a variation). The second panel shows pills in someone's open hand, each labeled with a blunt or uncomfortable truth the audience supposedly doesn't want to hear[3]. The format works because the "pill" metaphor for unpleasant truths is already baked into everyday language[2]. A "hard pill to swallow" means something difficult to accept, like a rejection or an inconvenient fact[2]. The visual simplicity of the template made it easy to edit. Anyone could slap new text on the pill bottle and the pills to deliver their own hot take, confession, or brutal honesty. The format lends itself to everything from relationship advice to political commentary to gaming opinions. ## How It Spread The format blew up the same day it was created. Hours after The_New_Phone11's original post, Reddit user LeNegolossauro reposted the image to r/meirl, where it exploded to more than 38,000 points (92% upvoted) with 850 comments[3]. That single repost turned a quiet object labeling joke into one of the week's biggest memes on Reddit. The next day, on February 22, 2018, user coconutsunbeam posted a version with the pills reading "Incognito does not save you from the FBI," earning over 4,400 points and 90 comments[3]. By February 24, the meme had jumped to Facebook. The page WikiHow Image Macros posted a dark humor variation called "Easy to Pills to Swallow" where the pills read "pills to end my life." That post pulled in more than 520 reactions and 75 shares[3]. On February 26, Reddit user JerrysMindblowers created a crossover combining Hard to Swallow Pills with the older "Pills That Make You Stare" meme, earning about 970 points[3]. This crossover showed the format was already being remixed and hybridized within its first week of existence. The meme's rapid spread across Reddit and Facebook within five days of its creation made it one of the fastest-growing object labeling formats of early 2018. ## How to Use The format typically follows a simple two-step structure: 1. **Panel one:** Show the pill bottle with the label "Hard to Swallow Pills" (or a custom variation like "Easy to Swallow Pills" for ironic takes). 2. **Panel two:** Show the pills in an open hand, each labeled with an uncomfortable truth, unpopular opinion, or blunt statement directed at the audience. ## Cultural Impact Hard to Swallow Pills fits into a broader tradition of "pill" metaphors in internet culture. The red pill/blue pill dichotomy from The Matrix had already established pills as symbols for uncomfortable truths online[3]. This meme took that metaphor and made it into an accessible, editable template that anyone could customize. The format drew from the same WikiHow-as-meme-source trend that produced other popular image macros during 2017-2018. WikiHow's earnest, slightly awkward illustrations proved to be a goldmine for meme creators looking for exploitable stock imagery[3]. The meme also overlapped with the "object labeling" genre that was peaking on Reddit in early 2018, where creators took mundane images and added text labels to turn them into commentary. ## Fun Facts - The source images came from a WikiHow article about lowering myostatin levels, a niche bodybuilding topic that has nothing to do with emotional truths[3]. - The meme went from zero to 38,000 upvotes in less than 24 hours, thanks to a repost that outperformed the original by over 100x[3]. - The phrase "hard pill to swallow" predates the internet entirely. It means something difficult to accept, and has been used in English for decades[2]. - The original post by The_New_Phone11 was about misreading casual conversation as romantic interest, a theme that overlaps with incel and dating culture discourse that was prominent on Reddit in 2018[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Hard to Swallow Pills? Hard to Swallow Pills is an object labeling image macro using two WikiHow images of a pill bottle and pills in a hand, where creators add text to deliver uncomfortable truths or unpopular opinions[3]. ### Where did Hard to Swallow Pills come from? The source images were published in a WikiHow article on August 17, 2017, and the meme format was created by Reddit user The_New_Phone11 on February 21, 2018[3]. ### What does Hard to Swallow Pills mean? The phrase refers to a truth or fact that is difficult to accept. In meme form, it presents blunt statements the audience supposedly doesn't want to hear[2]. ### How do you use Hard to Swallow Pills? Edit the pill bottle label to say "Hard to Swallow Pills" and write an uncomfortable truth on the pills in the second panel. The statement should be something the target audience would resist accepting[3]. ### Is Hard to Swallow Pills still popular? The format peaked in early 2018 and saw heavy use throughout that year. As of the available sources, it had strong engagement on both Reddit and Facebook during its initial viral period[3]. ### Who created the Hard to Swallow Pills meme? Reddit user The_New_Phone11 posted the first known version on February 21, 2018, in r/meirl. User LeNegolossauro's repost the same day drove it viral[3]. ### What was the original Hard to Swallow Pills meme about? The first version had the pills reading "casual conversation does mean she likes you," a comment about misinterpreting friendly conversation as romantic interest[3]. ### Why did the meme spread so fast? LeNegolossauro's repost of the original to r/meirl earned over 38,000 points in under a day, giving the format massive visibility. Its simple, editable two-panel structure made it easy for others to create their own versions[3]. ### Is Hard to Swallow Pills related to the red pill meme? Both use pills as a metaphor for truth, but they come from different sources. The red pill originates from The Matrix, while Hard to Swallow Pills comes from WikiHow stock imagery[3]. ### What are WikiHow memes? WikiHow's earnest, sometimes awkward stock illustrations have been used as source material for many meme formats. Hard to Swallow Pills is one of the most successful examples[3]. ## References 1. [Incel]() 2. [Hard Pill to Swallow - Urban Dictionary]() 3. [Hard Pill to Swallow - Know Your Meme]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/hard-pill-to-swallow Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library