Why Do They Call Trunks 'The Drink'? The Viral 'Dragon Ball' Meme Explained

If you're a Dragon Ball fan, you may have seen a few memes on social media referring to the popular character Trunks as "The Drink." The nickname has caught on big-time on sites like X / Twitter but many are confused as to what exactly it means. Here's why Trunks has earned the nickname "The Drink."

Why Is The Trunks 'They Call Me The Drink' Meme?

Back in December 2023, YouTuber kobyshinobi posted a meme video in which several fan art images of Dragon Ball characters appear on screen one at a time. As each character appears, they recite a nonsense, made-up nickname for themselves, such as "the cup" or "the whipped cream." Trunks is given the nickname "the drink."

The video's description explains the rationale behind the nickname, claiming it refers to his drip, aka his fashion sense, reading: "When you order a drink from a restaurant, it's a given that it comes with ice […] Aside from that jewelry flex, that ice makes the cup very cold. This causes the water vapor molecules in the air surrounding the outside of the cup to condense and become liquid, forming droplets that can drip down the sides of the cup, the operative word here being 'drip.'"

The nickname caught on further in June 2024, when the same YouTuber released a meme rap parody of an Ice Spice song based on Trunks' nickname. The video gained over 800,000 views in roughly two months.

How Is 'They Call Me The Drink' Used In Memes?

The nickname "The Drink" has taken off on social media throughout 2024. Mostly, it's used alongside fan art of Trunks as a simple reference to the meme. Typically, no context behind the name is given, leaving people to guess as to why he might be called "The Drink."

Most often, the memes are applied to artwork and images of the adult Trunks, aka Future Trunks, from Dragon Ball Z. Notably, the meme is inspired by a similar series of memes known as "The Sandwich" that went viral earlier in 2023. These memes apply the nickname "The Sandwich" to a variety of people with as little context as possible, meant to confuse and troll people who see the memes.

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For the full history of The Drink, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.