Works Cited: Crack Pipe

About

Works Cited: Crack Pipe is a reaction meme that uses an image of a dirty crack pipe alongside text that reads "Works Cited," as if to imply that a statement or opinion is so bizarre and unfounded that it could only be said by someone under the influence of methamphetamines. While the exact origin of the meme is presently unknown, it came to be used as a reaction image sometime around the year 2020, spreading on social media over the following years.

Origin

On October 30th, 2008, a stock image titled "Methamphetamine Pipe" was uploaded to Getty Images (seen below).^[1]

The earliest known use of the above image as a meme alongside the text "Works Cited" is an August 16th, 2020, Facebook^[2] post by "I'm in pain all the time" that references QAnon, gathering over 200 likes in three years (seen below).

Spread

On August 12th, 2020, iFunny^[3] user Ismael posted a meme about the political philosophy of Calvinism, using the "Works Cited: Crack Pipe" image to criticize it (seen below, left). On August 23rd, 2020, the Facebook^[4] page Mao Zedong received the Works Cited meme as a comment reply (seen below, right).

On March 26th, 2023, the Instagram^[5] page @toobased4society_2 posted a meme using the reaction image, gathering over 4,800 likes in five months (seen below, left). On April 1st, 2023, X^[6] user @EuphoriTori used the meme to react to another user saying that "92% of mass shootings are by leftwing extremists," gathering over 70,000 likes in five months (seen below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References