About

The Spice Must Flow is a catchphrase referencing the sci-fi series Dune used specifically in David Lynch's 1984 Dune film adaptation. The quote references the importance of the fictional psychedelic drug and resource Spice Melange, which is seen as the most important commodity in the universe. The quote became the subject of memes throughout the 2000s, seeing a boost in virality in 2021 surrounding the release of Dune: Part One.

Origin

During David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation of the novel Dune, The Guild Navigator, while describing the importance of Spice, says, "The Spice must flow" (shown below). This is purportedly the only time the quote is spoken or written throughout the Dune franchise, not appearing in the books.

One of the earliest known memes to use the quote is a meme from iCanHazCheeseburger shared to Wired^[1] on June 7th, 2008. The meme is an image macro placing the quote over an image of a kitten with fully blue eyes (a side effect of regularly taking Spice) wrapped in a towel, making it resemble a sandworm (shown below).

The spice must flow… the spice has given me accelerated evolution for four thousand years… it has enabled you to live two hundred years… the spice helps make the sapho juice, which gives the red-lipped mentats the ability to be living computers… the secret side of spice… the water of life.

Spread

The quote became increasingly popular throughout the 2010s and 2020s, often used in image macros and as the title of memes and posts related to Dune. The quote saw an increase in popularity in 2021 surrounding the release of Dune: Part One. For example, on August 22nd, 2021, Instagram^[2] user arbitrary.and.rejected.memes posted a meme using the phrase that gained over 400 likes in three years (shown below, left). On November 16th, Instagram^[3] user maslows_hierarchy_of_memes posted a Seinfeld meme using the quote, garnering over 700 likes in three years (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References