“Drinking the Kool-Aid” is a common expression to describe people who mindlessly follow a leader or principle without giving thought to its ramifications.

The mass suicide (or more accurately, murder-suicide since some of the victims did not die willingly) of 900 people in Jonestown, Guyana was the origin of this expression – though the Kool-Aid competitor Flavor-Aid was thought to be the drink that was laced with tranquilizers and cyanide, not Kool-Aid (though nothing is definitive). Some sources say that both Kool-Aid and Flavor-Aid were found among the Jonestown camp’s supplies.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter which brand of flavored drink they had, does it?  What’s important to remember on trivia nights is that Guyana is located in South America (so many people think it’s located in Africa).

Guyana borders Suriname, Brazil and Venezuela. Its estimated population is 783,000, its capital is Georgetown and its official language is English, though “Guyanese Creole” is the predominant language (probably sounds awesome). The fact that English is spoken here is probably why cult leader Jim Jones decided this was a good place to transplant his cult!

Fun fact – did you know ’80s singer Eddy Grant (best known for Electric Avenue) was born in Guyana? Did you know that he’s also not technically a one-hit wonder – since his song Romancing the Stone (used in the movie of the same name) hit #26 on the U.S. Billboard charts in 1984? It’s actually a pretty good song, check it out on Spotify! Or better yet, look up on YouTube, since Eddy Grant in the ’80s was NOT hard on the eyes 😉