What is Kool-Aid?
Kool-Aid is an inexpensive non-carbonated soft drink that comes in powder form, mixed with water and sugar. It's a sweet colorful drink favored by children.According to legend, members of The People's Temple killed themselves by drinking Kool-Aid mixed with cyanide.
To "Drink the Kool-Aid" is to adopt a religion with suicidal zeal. The first time I heard this expression in the software industry was from people I knew at General Magic. It goes like this: I Drank the Kool-Aid.
Tom Wolfe wrote The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
According to the Kool-Aid FAQ, "It is a popular misconception that 900 followers of cult leader Jim Jones committed suicide by drinking Grape Kool-Aid laced with cyanide at their commune in Jonestown Guyana in the late 1970's. The followers of Jones actually drank cyanide laced Flavor-aid, a cheap imitation of Kool-Aid."
