Delirium tremens caricature.

Little Elmer’s father’s delirium tremens delight the children, 1921. American author and screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart (1894-1980) wrote A Parody Outline of History (Stewart 1921). In the chapter on the Whiskey Rebellion, Aunt Polly Pinkwood tells a bedtime story to her nieces and nephews. “And one day this brave handsome man was out making whisky, and he had just sampled some when he looked up and what do you suppose he saw?” “Pink elephants!" cried little Elmer whose father had often had delirium tremens, greatly to the delight of his children.” Image restored by Douglas Lanska MD. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Project Gutenberg. Public domain.)