420 Blaze It

2012Catchphrase / image macroclassic

Also known as: 420 Blaze It Faggot · 420 Blaze It Fagut

420 Blaze It is a 2012 ironic image-macro meme pairing the cannabis slang "420" and "blaze" that transformed a sincere stoner rallying cry into widespread internet mockery of weed culture.

"420 Blaze It" is a catchphrase celebrating marijuana smoking that became an ironic internet meme in 2012. The phrase combines "420," a decades-old cannabis culture code word originating from a group of California high school students in 1971, with the verb "blaze," slang for smoking. What started as a sincere stoner rallying cry on Tumblr quickly became a punchline used to mock weed culture stereotypes across Reddit, 4chan, and Facebook.

stoner memescatchphrase memesironic memesearly 2010s memes4chan memes

Overview

"420 Blaze It" is a catchphrase built on the long-running association between the number 420 and cannabis culture1. In meme form, the phrase is almost always used ironically, poking fun at people who make marijuana consumption a core part of their identity3. The most recognizable version features a crude edit of a Belgian comic panel showing a father figure aggressively telling a child to smoke weed, captioned with "420 blaze it faggot." The phrase spread far beyond that single image, becoming a go-to punchline for absurdist humor, montage parodies, and shitposts throughout the early-to-mid 2010s.

The number 420 itself traces back to 1971, when five students at San Rafael High School in California coined it as a code word. The group, who called themselves the "Waldos" because they hung out by a wall outside the school, originally used "4:20 Louis" to mark the time and place they'd meet near the Louis Pasteur statue to search for an abandoned cannabis crop1. After repeated failed searches, "4:20" simply became their shorthand for smoking weed. Steven Hager of *High Times* magazine later popularized the Waldos' story, with the first mention of 4:20 appearing in the magazine in May 19911.

The meme itself began with a Belgian comic. On October 20, 2011, the website for the Belgian magazine *Humo* published a single-panel comic depicting a father explaining to his daughter that she cannot contract AIDS from a mosquito bite3. On July 8, 2012, Tumblr user welcometothedankside posted an edited version of the comic, altering the dialogue so the father tells the six-year-old to "420 blaze it faggot"3. The post picked up over 48,300 notes within seven months.

The phrase may also have roots in the song "Blaze it Up (420 Anthem)" by rappers K57, Bez Da Boss, and Akki Bo. A music video uploaded to YouTube on March 22, 2011, by user Anthony Jacob featured the track alongside scenes of marijuana use3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Belgian magazine Humo (source comic), Tumblr (meme format)
Key People
welcometothedankside, Humo magazine
Date
2012

The number 420 itself traces back to 1971, when five students at San Rafael High School in California coined it as a code word. The group, who called themselves the "Waldos" because they hung out by a wall outside the school, originally used "4:20 Louis" to mark the time and place they'd meet near the Louis Pasteur statue to search for an abandoned cannabis crop. After repeated failed searches, "4:20" simply became their shorthand for smoking weed. Steven Hager of *High Times* magazine later popularized the Waldos' story, with the first mention of 4:20 appearing in the magazine in May 1991.

The meme itself began with a Belgian comic. On October 20, 2011, the website for the Belgian magazine *Humo* published a single-panel comic depicting a father explaining to his daughter that she cannot contract AIDS from a mosquito bite. On July 8, 2012, Tumblr user welcometothedankside posted an edited version of the comic, altering the dialogue so the father tells the six-year-old to "420 blaze it faggot". The post picked up over 48,300 notes within seven months.

The phrase may also have roots in the song "Blaze it Up (420 Anthem)" by rappers K57, Bez Da Boss, and Akki Bo. A music video uploaded to YouTube on March 22, 2011, by user Anthony Jacob featured the track alongside scenes of marijuana use.

How It Spread

The meme moved fast after the Tumblr post took off. On August 5, 2012, a Facebook page titled "420 Blaze it Fagut" appeared and picked up over 280 likes in six months. Six days later, on August 11, Forum Korner member Aiden reposted welcometothedankside's comic in the site's marijuana subforum.

4chan got hold of it by September 23, 2012, when an anonymous user posted a cropped image of the father's face from the comic to the /x/ (paranormal) board with the caption "420 blaze it faggot". The phrase found its biggest early audience on Reddit. On December 28, 2012, Redditor HoagieTime submitted a post to r/circlejerk joking that "420 blaze it" were the last words of Carl Sagan. That post earned over 5,900 upvotes and 190 comments. By February 2013, r/circlejerk alone had over 300 posts containing the keywords "blaze it".

The phrase also became a staple of montage parody videos on YouTube, where creators would layer MLG graphics, airhorn sound effects, and "420 blaze it" text over mundane footage for comedic effect. The ironic usage dominated. Most people posting "420 blaze it" online weren't celebrating weed; they were making fun of the people who would say it sincerely.

Meanwhile, the underlying 420 culture kept growing in the real world. April 20 became an international counterculture holiday with public gatherings in cities from San Francisco's "Hippie Hill" to London's Hyde Park. In the U.S., highway departments started replacing Mile Marker 420 signs because they kept getting stolen. Colorado's Department of Transportation swapped its I-70 marker for one reading "419.99".

How to Use This Meme

The phrase works in a few common ways:

- As a standalone punchline: Drop "420 blaze it" into any unrelated conversation for absurdist humor. The less appropriate the context, the funnier it lands. - As an image macro: Typically features the cropped comic father face, weed leaf graphics, or MLG-style editing with neon text reading "420 BLAZE IT." - In montage parodies: Layer the phrase (often in Impact font or with lens flare effects) over gameplay footage or mundane clips, alongside airhorns and hit markers. - As ironic commentary: Respond to anyone taking weed culture too seriously with a deadpan "420 blaze it" to signal you're mocking, not endorsing.

The tone is almost always ironic. Using it sincerely marks you as exactly the type of person the meme makes fun of.

Cultural Impact

The 420 Blaze It meme rode a wave of broader cultural shifts around cannabis. As marijuana legalization expanded across U.S. states in the 2010s, cannabis activist Steve DeAngelo noted in 2017 that "even if our activist work were complete, 420 morphs from a statement of conscience to a celebration of acceptance". The meme captured this transition perfectly: 420 was moving from countercultural code to mainstream punchline.

The real-world 420 holiday grew alongside the meme's popularity. Annual gatherings at locations like Denver's Civic Center Park, Vancouver's Art Gallery, and the University of Colorado Boulder campus drew thousands. Vivian McPeak, a founder of Seattle's Hempfest, described 4/20 as "half celebration and half call to action".

The phrase also became a fixture of gaming culture through montage parodies, where "420 blaze it" was one of several running gags alongside "no scope" and MLG branding. This connected the stoner catchphrase to an entirely separate internet subculture that had little to do with actual marijuana use.

Fun Facts

Colorado replaced its Mile Marker 420 sign on I-70 with one reading "419.99" because the original kept getting stolen.

Idaho did the same thing on U.S. Highway 95, swapping mile marker 420 for 419.9.

The Waldos, who coined "420" in 1971, got the term into wider circulation through the Grateful Dead. Waldo Dave Reddix became a roadie for Dead bassist Phil Lesh.

The first *High Times* mention of 420 in 1991 incorrectly attributed its origin to a police code.

Despite popular belief that fatal car crashes increase on April 20, further analysis found the evidence didn't support the claim.

Derivatives & Variations

420 Blaze It Fagut Facebook page:

Created August 5, 2012, an intentionally misspelled variant that became one of the early hubs for the meme[3].

Montage parody usage:

The phrase became a core element of the YouTube montage parody genre alongside MLG graphics, Doritos, and Mountain Dew imagery[3].

Carl Sagan / r/circlejerk crossover:

Reddit's r/circlejerk community adopted the phrase as part of its ironic worship of Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson, joking that "420 blaze it" were Sagan's final words[3].

April 20 gatherings:

While predating the meme, real-world 4/20 events at locations like Golden Gate Park and Hyde Park grew in visibility partly through meme culture spreading awareness of the date's significance[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

420 Blaze It

2012Catchphrase / image macroclassic

Also known as: 420 Blaze It Faggot · 420 Blaze It Fagut

420 Blaze It is a 2012 ironic image-macro meme pairing the cannabis slang "420" and "blaze" that transformed a sincere stoner rallying cry into widespread internet mockery of weed culture.

"420 Blaze It" is a catchphrase celebrating marijuana smoking that became an ironic internet meme in 2012. The phrase combines "420," a decades-old cannabis culture code word originating from a group of California high school students in 1971, with the verb "blaze," slang for smoking. What started as a sincere stoner rallying cry on Tumblr quickly became a punchline used to mock weed culture stereotypes across Reddit, 4chan, and Facebook.

stoner memes catchphrase memes ironic memes early 2010s memes 4chan memes

Overview

"420 Blaze It" is a catchphrase built on the long-running association between the number 420 and cannabis culture. In meme form, the phrase is almost always used ironically, poking fun at people who make marijuana consumption a core part of their identity. The most recognizable version features a crude edit of a Belgian comic panel showing a father figure aggressively telling a child to smoke weed, captioned with "420 blaze it faggot." The phrase spread far beyond that single image, becoming a go-to punchline for absurdist humor, montage parodies, and shitposts throughout the early-to-mid 2010s.

The number 420 itself traces back to 1971, when five students at San Rafael High School in California coined it as a code word. The group, who called themselves the "Waldos" because they hung out by a wall outside the school, originally used "4:20 Louis" to mark the time and place they'd meet near the Louis Pasteur statue to search for an abandoned cannabis crop. After repeated failed searches, "4:20" simply became their shorthand for smoking weed. Steven Hager of *High Times* magazine later popularized the Waldos' story, with the first mention of 4:20 appearing in the magazine in May 1991.

The meme itself began with a Belgian comic. On October 20, 2011, the website for the Belgian magazine *Humo* published a single-panel comic depicting a father explaining to his daughter that she cannot contract AIDS from a mosquito bite. On July 8, 2012, Tumblr user welcometothedankside posted an edited version of the comic, altering the dialogue so the father tells the six-year-old to "420 blaze it faggot". The post picked up over 48,300 notes within seven months.

The phrase may also have roots in the song "Blaze it Up (420 Anthem)" by rappers K57, Bez Da Boss, and Akki Bo. A music video uploaded to YouTube on March 22, 2011, by user Anthony Jacob featured the track alongside scenes of marijuana use.

Origin & Background

Platform
Belgian magazine Humo (source comic), Tumblr (meme format)
Key People
welcometothedankside, Humo magazine
Date
2012

The number 420 itself traces back to 1971, when five students at San Rafael High School in California coined it as a code word. The group, who called themselves the "Waldos" because they hung out by a wall outside the school, originally used "4:20 Louis" to mark the time and place they'd meet near the Louis Pasteur statue to search for an abandoned cannabis crop. After repeated failed searches, "4:20" simply became their shorthand for smoking weed. Steven Hager of *High Times* magazine later popularized the Waldos' story, with the first mention of 4:20 appearing in the magazine in May 1991.

The meme itself began with a Belgian comic. On October 20, 2011, the website for the Belgian magazine *Humo* published a single-panel comic depicting a father explaining to his daughter that she cannot contract AIDS from a mosquito bite. On July 8, 2012, Tumblr user welcometothedankside posted an edited version of the comic, altering the dialogue so the father tells the six-year-old to "420 blaze it faggot". The post picked up over 48,300 notes within seven months.

The phrase may also have roots in the song "Blaze it Up (420 Anthem)" by rappers K57, Bez Da Boss, and Akki Bo. A music video uploaded to YouTube on March 22, 2011, by user Anthony Jacob featured the track alongside scenes of marijuana use.

How It Spread

The meme moved fast after the Tumblr post took off. On August 5, 2012, a Facebook page titled "420 Blaze it Fagut" appeared and picked up over 280 likes in six months. Six days later, on August 11, Forum Korner member Aiden reposted welcometothedankside's comic in the site's marijuana subforum.

4chan got hold of it by September 23, 2012, when an anonymous user posted a cropped image of the father's face from the comic to the /x/ (paranormal) board with the caption "420 blaze it faggot". The phrase found its biggest early audience on Reddit. On December 28, 2012, Redditor HoagieTime submitted a post to r/circlejerk joking that "420 blaze it" were the last words of Carl Sagan. That post earned over 5,900 upvotes and 190 comments. By February 2013, r/circlejerk alone had over 300 posts containing the keywords "blaze it".

The phrase also became a staple of montage parody videos on YouTube, where creators would layer MLG graphics, airhorn sound effects, and "420 blaze it" text over mundane footage for comedic effect. The ironic usage dominated. Most people posting "420 blaze it" online weren't celebrating weed; they were making fun of the people who would say it sincerely.

Meanwhile, the underlying 420 culture kept growing in the real world. April 20 became an international counterculture holiday with public gatherings in cities from San Francisco's "Hippie Hill" to London's Hyde Park. In the U.S., highway departments started replacing Mile Marker 420 signs because they kept getting stolen. Colorado's Department of Transportation swapped its I-70 marker for one reading "419.99".

How to Use This Meme

The phrase works in a few common ways:

- As a standalone punchline: Drop "420 blaze it" into any unrelated conversation for absurdist humor. The less appropriate the context, the funnier it lands. - As an image macro: Typically features the cropped comic father face, weed leaf graphics, or MLG-style editing with neon text reading "420 BLAZE IT." - In montage parodies: Layer the phrase (often in Impact font or with lens flare effects) over gameplay footage or mundane clips, alongside airhorns and hit markers. - As ironic commentary: Respond to anyone taking weed culture too seriously with a deadpan "420 blaze it" to signal you're mocking, not endorsing.

The tone is almost always ironic. Using it sincerely marks you as exactly the type of person the meme makes fun of.

Cultural Impact

The 420 Blaze It meme rode a wave of broader cultural shifts around cannabis. As marijuana legalization expanded across U.S. states in the 2010s, cannabis activist Steve DeAngelo noted in 2017 that "even if our activist work were complete, 420 morphs from a statement of conscience to a celebration of acceptance". The meme captured this transition perfectly: 420 was moving from countercultural code to mainstream punchline.

The real-world 420 holiday grew alongside the meme's popularity. Annual gatherings at locations like Denver's Civic Center Park, Vancouver's Art Gallery, and the University of Colorado Boulder campus drew thousands. Vivian McPeak, a founder of Seattle's Hempfest, described 4/20 as "half celebration and half call to action".

The phrase also became a fixture of gaming culture through montage parodies, where "420 blaze it" was one of several running gags alongside "no scope" and MLG branding. This connected the stoner catchphrase to an entirely separate internet subculture that had little to do with actual marijuana use.

Fun Facts

Colorado replaced its Mile Marker 420 sign on I-70 with one reading "419.99" because the original kept getting stolen.

Idaho did the same thing on U.S. Highway 95, swapping mile marker 420 for 419.9.

The Waldos, who coined "420" in 1971, got the term into wider circulation through the Grateful Dead. Waldo Dave Reddix became a roadie for Dead bassist Phil Lesh.

The first *High Times* mention of 420 in 1991 incorrectly attributed its origin to a police code.

Despite popular belief that fatal car crashes increase on April 20, further analysis found the evidence didn't support the claim.

Derivatives & Variations

420 Blaze It Fagut Facebook page:

Created August 5, 2012, an intentionally misspelled variant that became one of the early hubs for the meme[3].

Montage parody usage:

The phrase became a core element of the YouTube montage parody genre alongside MLG graphics, Doritos, and Mountain Dew imagery[3].

Carl Sagan / r/circlejerk crossover:

Reddit's r/circlejerk community adopted the phrase as part of its ironic worship of Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson, joking that "420 blaze it" were Sagan's final words[3].

April 20 gatherings:

While predating the meme, real-world 4/20 events at locations like Golden Gate Park and Hyde Park grew in visibility partly through meme culture spreading awareness of the date's significance[1].

Frequently Asked Questions