The Cocaine Bear, also known as Pablo Eskobear (sometimes spelled Escobear), was a 175-pound (79-kilogram) American black bear that overdosed on cocaine in 1985. The cocaine had been dropped by drug smugglers in the wilderness in Tennessee, United States. The bear was found dead in northern Georgia and was stuffed and displayed at a mall in Kentucky. It inspired the 2023 action-comedy film, Cocaine Bear.

History

On September 11, 1985, former American narcotics officer and Kentucky-based drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II was trafficking cocaine from Colombia into the United States. After dropping off a shipment in Blairsville, Georgia, Thornton and an accomplice departed in an auto-piloted Cessna 404 Titan. En route, the duo dropped a load of 40 plastic containers of cocaine into the wilderness before abandoning the plane above Knoxville, Tennessee. Thornton was instantly killed in the evacuation when his parachute failed to open. According to the FBI, Thornton dumped his cargo due to the weight being too heavy in-flight.

On December 23, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported finding a dead black bear that had eaten the cocaine from the containers. The total amount of cocaine eaten was 75 pounds (34 kilograms), valued at 2 million dollars. The chief medical examiner from the Georgia State Crime Lab, Dr. Kenneth Alonso, stated that its stomach was "literally packed to the brim with cocaine", though he estimated the bear had absorbed only 3 to 4 grams into its bloodstream at the time of its death.

Dr. Alonso did not want to waste the body of the bear, so he had it taxidermied and gave it to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. However, the bear was lost until it emerged again in a pawn shop. Eventually it made its way to the "Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall" in Lexington, Kentucky where it remains to this day.

In popular culture

On March 9, 2021, Universal Pictures announced that a film, Cocaine Bear, was in development. It was also confirmed that the film would be directed by Elizabeth Banks. However, the film takes some liberties, as the real events which occurred between the bear's ingestion of cocaine and its death are not known; notably, the bear did not kill any people, unlike the bear portrayed in the film. The film is scheduled to be released on February 24, 2023.

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  • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Very bad, stupid joke - you have been warned

    Did you hear about the hungry clock?

    It went back four seconds.

    • BowlingForDeez [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Mini-rant.

      This is a good pun because it works on two levels. If you say it out loud, it makes sense as a sentence either way. That's the sign of a true pun.

      Puns that only work on one level are reddit tier garbage. They're not puns, they're just word association. What I truly, truly hate are those jokes which are several sentences of set-up with nonsense, so the "punchline" reveals some terrible pun. Something like this.

      spoiler

      ___There was once an island kingdom whose people were all fabulously wealthy. Even though they could have afforded to live anywhere they wanted, tradition dictated they stay on their tiny island home.

      Eventually, their king became frustrated and called a meeting of the tribe's elders. He said he wanted them to figure out a way he could enjoy his wealth, and stay within traditional guidelines.

      After much consideration, the elders suggested he build a magnificent throne. When he objected there was not enough room in his hut for a throne, the elders suggested he call in an engineer to solve the problem.

      Soon, the king's tiny hut was rigged with an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys. He could lower the huge throne for use during the day, and at night, he could haul the throne up, and lower his bed. This was truly the best of both worlds for the king.

      Unfortunately, after a few months of constant use, the ropes frayed, and one night, the throne slipped and came crashing down on the king, killing him.

      The wise men of the island recognized a lesson in this experience and added to the lore of their people this statement: "People who live in grass houses should not stow thrones."

      • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I'd never torture you guys with a joke on a "listen to this much funny" reddit copypasta.

        But I'd love for a bunch of stand up comics (an excellent to awful) have a contest where each comic has different audience to get the most laughs out out of that loooooooooong wait to the very lame punchline. Paradoxically - I think the worst comedians might have the most luck because failure on stage at every level can be fascinating to watch. It's like watching the human equivalent of a bridge collapse.