Angry professor (viral video)

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Angry professor is a viral video. It depicts a college professor (though he appears to be a graduate student) giving a lecture that's being recorded. During his lecture, a male student's cell phone rings. The student begins to talk on the cell phone, when the instructor comes over, asks for the phone, smashes it on the ground, and resumes his lecture. It's rumored the video was recorded at University of Colorado at Boulder or the University of Wisconsin.

[edit] Original Version

The first edit of the video (which averages about thirty-six seconds) simply showed the instructor lecturing and seemingly being annoyed by a student taking a call on his cell phone, smashing it, and calmly resuming his lecture.[1]

This version made it onto the front page of YouTube and received several All-Time "Honors", including "Most Viewed", "Most Discussed", and "Top Favorites".

[edit] Extended Cut

A little over a year after the initial edit was released, on April 18, 2007, an extended version of the video -- which runs about fifty-two seconds -- appeared on YouTube called, "angry professor (extended cut)".[2] This edit showed more of the initial lecture, the instructor smashing the cell phone, and resuming his lecture. What this edit includes is the instructor laughing and telling his class, "We're just [bleep] with you. This is my best friend Ben James", exposing the incident to be a prank. It's followed by an image that reads, "Please Turn Off Your Cellphones Before Class" with "TDA Advertising & Design" in the bottom right-hand corner.

[edit] Reaction

The original version became popular with several viral video websites, as well as with many popular blogs. It sparked much debate over whether the instructor had the right to destroy the student's cell phone. Supporters of the instructor believed he was right in destroying the student's cell phone, because the student was being disruptive. Those who opposed felt the instructor had no right to destroy the student's personal property.