Grateful Dead & Merry PrankstersThe Acid Test Reels
1965-1967
The Acid Tests were a series of psychedelic parties held by Ken Kesey in the San Francisco Bay Area during the mid 1960s, centered entirely around the use, experimentation, and advocacy of LSD, also known as "acid."
The name "Acid Test" was coined by Kesey, after the term "acid test" used by gold miners in the 1850s. He advertised the parties with posters that read, "Can YOU Pass The Acid Test?", and the name was later popularized in Tom Wolfe's 1968 book, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Musical performances by the Grateful Dead were commonplace, along with black lights, strobe lights, and fluorescent paint. The Acid Tests are notable for their influence on the LSD-based counterculture of the San Francisco area and subsequent transition from the beat generation to the hippie movement.
