Pink Elephants

Seeing pink elephants

"Seeing pink elephants" is a euphemism for hallucinations caused by delirium tremens or alcoholic hallucinosis, especially the former. The term dates back to at least the early 20th century, emerging from earlier idioms about seeing snakes and other creatures. An alcoholic character in Jack London's 1913 novel John Barleycorn makes reference to the hallucination of "blue mice and pink elephants" while describing the two different types of men that consume alcohol excessively. Another notable instance of the appearance of pink elephants in popular culture is the "Pink Elephants on Parade" section of the 1941 Walt Disney animated film Dumbo.

Ironic process theory

In psychology, ironic process theory (IPT), also known as the pink elephant paradox or white bear phenomenon, suggests that when an individual intentionally tries to avoid thinking a certain thought or feeling a certain emotion, a paradoxical effect is produced: the attempted avoidance not only fails in its object but in fact causes the thought or emotion to occur more frequently and more intensely. IPT is also known as "ironic rebound," or "the white bear problem."

Pink Elephants

Pink Elephants is the second studio album by Mick Harvey, released on 27 October 1997. The album is Harvey's second in his series of Serge Gainsbourg interpretations/translations, preceded by Intoxicated Man and followed by Delirium Tremens and Intoxicated Women.

Pink Elephants (film)

Pink Elephants is a 1937 black-and-white cartoon made by the Terrytoons studio and released by 20th Century Fox. Directed by George Gordon, produced by Paul Terry and with original music by Philip A. Scheib, it was released in the United States on 9 July 1937. It is among the few unsyndicated Terrytoons that has been digitized by collectors and archivists.

pink elephants

Noun

1. plural of pink elephant