# Rasta Science Teacher

Rasta Science Teacher, also called Rasta Professor, is an image macro built from a candid photo of a college physics instructor with dreadlocks and a Rasta cap. It first appeared on Quickmeme on April 6, 2011 and became a defining bait-and-switch template of the advice animal era, pairing reggae slang setups with dry academic punchlines that made it a 4/20 favorite.

## Origin
The earliest known instance was posted to Quickmeme on April 6, 2011 with the tagline 'Lights His Joint / With a Bunsen Burner,' and Reddit reposted it the same day[2]. The subject's identity was never confirmed, though several Redditors who claimed to have been in his classes said he taught physics at a college in San Alto, California.

On April 16, 2011, a Redditor going by lyingonahill said he had been a student in the professor's course. Four days later, on April 20, a user named RastaTeacher posted an unverified IAMA thread claiming to be the instructor in the picture.

- **Platform:** Quickmeme / Reddit
- **Creator:** Unknown
- **Date:** 2011

## Overview
The caption format runs on a two-part gag. The top line delivers a phrase you would expect from a reggae fan or cannabis enthusiast, and the bottom line derails into something an actual chemistry or physics teacher would say[2]. The founding entry set the template: 'Lights His Joint / With a Bunsen Burner.'

The structure sits in the same family as Successful Black Man and Dating Site Murderer, image macros that use line-break misdirection to play against a stereotype the viewer is invited to assume[2]. Rasta Science Teacher works in both directions: some captions lean into the Rastafarian stoner cliche, while others slice through it with a bookish payoff about diffusion, spectroscopy, or lab safety.

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Rasta Science Teacher?
A 2011 image macro built from a photo of a college physics instructor with dreadlocks and a Rasta hat, captioned in a two-line bait-and-switch that swaps stoner slang for classroom science[1].

### Where did Rasta Science Teacher come from?
It first appeared on Quickmeme on April 6, 2011 with the caption 'Lights His Joint / With a Bunsen Burner' and hit Reddit the same day[2].

### What does Rasta Science Teacher mean?
The joke plays on the visual stereotype of a Rastafarian cannabis fan, then flips the punchline into something a real science professor would say, like reading 'lights his joint' as a Bunsen burner reference[2].

### How do you use Rasta Science Teacher?
Pick a first line that reads like reggae lyrics or smoker lingo, then follow it with a physics or chemistry punchline that takes the phrase literally, matching the original 'Lights His Joint / With a Bunsen Burner' formula[2].

### Is Rasta Science Teacher still popular?
It is a classic advice-animal-era template rather than an active trend; by mid-2012 Quickmeme already hosted more than 3,700 versions, and forum discussion around the meme has largely gone quiet since its peak[1].

## References
1. [https://www.sherdog.net/forums/f7/rasta-science-teacher-meme-1640039/](<https://www.sherdog.net/forums/f7/rasta-science-teacher-meme-1640039/>)
2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rasta-science-teacher](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rasta-science-teacher>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/rasta-science-teacher
Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library