# Snorting the Blue Pill and Red Pill

Snorting the Blue Pill and Red Pill, also known as Taking the Purple Pill, is a two-panel image macro that mashes Morpheus's Matrix choice scene with a stick-figure gag from xkcd comic 566, in which someone crushes both pills and snorts the mixture[1]. Redditor Baka_Tsundere_ posted the earliest known example to r/yurimemes on January 13, 2020[2]. By October 2020, variants with Roman helmets and prequel Star Wars labels were earning tens of thousands of upvotes on r/HistoryMemes and r/PrequelMemes[5].

## Origin
The bottom-panel stick figure originates from Randall Munroe's xkcd comic 566, titled 'Matrix Revisited', in which the character takes both pills, grinds them into powder and snorts the resulting purple mix as a joke about refusing the binary choice[1]. Morpheus holding out the pills in the top panel comes from the 1999 film The Matrix, with the illustration used alongside Munroe's panel attributed to an unknown artist[3].

The two-panel template first surfaced on January 13, 2020, when Redditor Baka_Tsundere_ shared it to r/yurimemes with a yuri-themed caption[2]. That early post earned over 1,600 upvotes and 24 comments within six months[2].

- **Platform:** xkcd (source art) / Reddit (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown
- **Date:** 2020

## Overview
Each post labels the red and blue pill with two options the poster can't decide between, then shows the stick figure smashing both into a purple pile and snorting the result as the punchline[2]. Common pairings include ideological opposites, pop-culture fandoms or outcomes that would normally be mutually exclusive. Posters frequently photoshop costume items onto the stick figure, such as goggles or a Roman legionary helmet, to tie the gag to a specific topic[5].

The top panel usually keeps Morpheus holding the two pills, though some versions substitute a different Matrix still or a different character while keeping the pill setup[4]. Tone ranges from political jabs to fandom crossovers, with the template especially common on meme subreddits where posts have earned tens of thousands of upvotes[5].

## How to Use
Posters typically label the red pill with one option and the blue pill with its opposite in the top panel, then let the stick figure in the bottom panel crush and snort both as a visual gag about choosing all of the above[4]. A common convention is to add costume items to the stick figure, like a Roman legionary helmet or goggles, to anchor the joke to the subject of the labels[5].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Snorting the Blue Pill and Red Pill?
It's a two-panel image macro, also called Taking the Purple Pill, that pairs Morpheus from The Matrix offering a red pill and blue pill with a stick figure from xkcd 566 who crushes both and snorts the mixture[1].

### Where did Snorting the Blue Pill and Red Pill come from?
The two-panel template first appeared in a January 13, 2020 Reddit post by Baka_Tsundere_ on r/yurimemes, which borrowed the bottom panel from Randall Munroe's xkcd 566[2].

### What does Snorting the Blue Pill and Red Pill mean?
It rejects the forced binary choice from The Matrix by taking both pills at once, usually to signal that the poster wants both of the labeled options instead of picking just one[3].

### How do you use Snorting the Blue Pill and Red Pill?
Label each pill in the top panel with one of two opposing choices, then caption the bottom panel so the stick figure snorts the combined 'purple pill' to say the poster wants both[4].

### Is Snorting the Blue Pill and Red Pill still popular?
Its standout viral moment came in late 2020, with the r/HistoryMemes Roman Republic edit earning over 45,800 upvotes and the r/PrequelMemes version hitting more than 6,300 upvotes[5].

## References
1. [https://xkcd.com/566/](<https://xkcd.com/566/>)
2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/yurimemes/comments/eo6w8e/both_is_good/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/yurimemes/comments/eo6w8e/both_is_good/>)
3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/snorting-the-blue-pill-and-red-pill](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/snorting-the-blue-pill-and-red-pill>)
4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/PrequelMemes/comments/iyyajc/never_been_so_ofended_by_something_i_totally_agre/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/PrequelMemes/comments/iyyajc/never_been_so_ofended_by_something_i_totally_agre/>)
5. [https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/jboz3d/late_roman_republic_in_a_nutshell/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/jboz3d/late_roman_republic_in_a_nutshell/>)
6. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CFskLf1MhOn/](<https://www.instagram.com/p/CFskLf1MhOn/>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/snorting-the-blue-pill-and-red-pill
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