{"slug":"fat-man-drinking-from-pipe","name":"Fat Man Drinking From Pipe","url":"/templates/fat-man-drinking-from-pipe.jpg","w":889,"h":675,"top":"","bottom":"","description":"Fat Man Drinking From Pipe meme maker. An editorial cartoon showing a large man in a suit guzzling from a pipe while a tiny person below catches the drips. Label the hoarder, the resource, and whoever gets the scraps.","keywords":"fat man pipe meme, trickle down meme, editorial cartoon meme, resource hoarding meme, inequality meme, pipe drinking meme","year":2015,"origin":"An editorial-style cartoon depicting wealth or resource inequality. A large, suited figure drinks directly from a pipe, consuming the vast majority of whatever flows through it. Below, a much smaller figure attempts to catch the drops that leak past. The image circulated on social media starting around 2015 as a general-purpose template for any situation where one entity takes most of a resource while another gets the leftovers. For another power-imbalance format, see Guy Recording A Fight (bystander dynamic) or Moe Throws Barney (getting discarded).","format":"template","textBoxes":[{"label":"Fat Man","x":48,"y":19.7,"w":40.7,"h":44.4,"placeholder":"The one hoarding","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":true,"isAllCaps":false,"fontSize":45},{"label":"Pipe","x":5.4,"y":13.6,"w":40.8,"h":18,"placeholder":"The resource","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":true,"isAllCaps":false,"fontSize":45},{"label":"Tiny Figure","x":1.9,"y":57.3,"w":36.8,"h":31.2,"placeholder":"Who gets the scraps","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":true,"isAllCaps":false,"fontSize":45}],"howToMake":["Three text fields label the cartoon: the large figure consuming the resource, the pipe itself, and the tiny person catching drips","Assign each label to match your scenario. The fat man is whoever takes the most, the pipe is what they are taking, and the tiny figure is whoever gets leftovers","Black text without stroke blends with the editorial art style. Keep labels concise so they read like a political cartoon caption","The humor (or commentary) works when the resource is something everyone wants but one party clearly dominates","Save as PNG or share to call out any lopsided distribution you have witnessed"],"exampleCaptions":["THE ALGORITHM","ENGAGEMENT","ACCOUNTS WITH UNDER 100 FOLLOWERS"],"exampleAltText":"Fat Man Drinking From Pipe meme about the algorithm hoarding engagement while small accounts get scraps","exampleRefreshDate":"2026-04-26","seo":{"aliases":["Trickle Down Meme","Pipe Drinking Meme","Resource Hoarding Cartoon","Inequality Cartoon Meme","Fat Man Pipe Cartoon"],"description":"An editorial cartoon in a muted color palette. A large man in a dark suit wraps himself around a pipe, mouth pressed against it, drinking everything that flows through. Below and to the left, a tiny figure holds out a cup, catching stray drops that escape. The contrast in size between the two figures communicates the imbalance instantly.","definition":"A cartoon fat man drinks directly from a pipe while a tiny figure below catches drips. Three labels: who is hoarding, what they are hoarding, and who gets the leftovers. The format visualizes any lopsided distribution of resources, attention, or opportunity.","useCases":[{"category":"Social Media & Algorithms","examples":["the algorithm / reach and impressions / creators who actually make good content","accounts with millions of followers / brand deals / small creators doing the same work","the platform / ad revenue / the people creating the content"]},{"category":"Work & Compensation","examples":["the CEO / the company profits / the employees who generated them","senior management / the annual bonus pool / the rest of the team","the client / the project budget / the freelancer doing all the work","corporate overhead / the department budget / the people who need new equipment"]},{"category":"Technology & Gaming","examples":["the publisher / the game revenue / the developers who crunched for 2 years","premium users / all the good features / free tier users","the main character / all the XP / my support class sitting in the back","one app / my phone storage / every other app fighting for 500 MB"]},{"category":"Household & Roommates","examples":["my roommate / the hot water / me trying to shower after them","one person / the entire blanket / the other person freezing at 3am","whoever cooks / choosing what we eat / whoever does not cook getting no vote","the wifi router / bandwidth / the device furthest from the router"]},{"category":"Food & Dining","examples":["the person who ordered first / the appetizer sampler / everyone else who only got one bite","whoever sits closest to the bread basket / all the bread / the far end of the table","the early bird at the potluck / all the good dishes / everyone who arrived 15 minutes late"]},{"category":"Education & Knowledge","examples":["the student who asks questions / all the professor's attention / everyone else who is also confused","students with expensive prep courses / college admissions / students studying on their own","the kid who finishes the test first / the teacher's approval / the rest of us still on question 3"]}]}}