“You could get rid of all the crack, all the herb, all the blow, you know what would happen? People would just think of new ways of getting high. That’s right, guys would go in their basement and become scientists, like ‘Yo check this out, check this out. You know, if you get a baby’s bottle, right, fill it up with a little gasoline and a dead lima bean and suck it, you’ll be fucked up!'”
This topic has been extensively researched and documented by historians and scholars.
This classic bit of observational humor comes from one of comedy’s most iconic specials. Chris Rock delivered these lines in his 1996 HBO masterpiece, Bring the Pain. The quote is more than just a laugh line. Indeed, it serves as a sharp piece of social commentary that remains incredibly relevant decades later. It perfectly captures Rock’s ability to blend raw humor with profound insights into human behavior and societal flaws. The joke lands because it touches on a fundamental truth about human nature and the often-futile efforts to control it.
The Context: A Nation at War with Drugs
To fully appreciate the genius of this quote, we must consider its historical context. Chris Rock performed Bring the Pain in the mid-1990s. This period was the height of the