The 'Bean Dad' meme emerged in January 2021 when podcaster John Roderick posted a lengthy Twitter thread detailing how he refused to help his hungry 9-year-old daughter open a can of baked beans for six hours to teach her a lesson on how a can opener works. The story quickly went viral, igniting a massive debate over parenting styles, with Roderick being dubbed the 'Main Character of Twitter' for that day. While some defended his attempt at teaching self-reliance, the majority of the internet criticized the move as performative and unnecessary. The meme is now used to mock overly dramatic parenting 'lessons,' stubbornness, or any situation involving cans of beans and unnecessary struggle.