Overview

The #BagelGate refers to a viral photograph of a number of bagels in a box "bread sliced," or cut as if they were bread, meaning into eight thin slices rather than the traditional way, which is sliced in half. Many online reacted negatively to the photograph.

Background

On March 25th, 2019, Twitter user @AlekKrautmann tweeted,^[1] "Today I introduced my coworkers to the St Louis secret of ordering bagels bread sliced. It was a hit!" The post also featured a photograph of the bagels from the restaurant chain Panera Bread that had been "bread sliced." The post received more than 250 retweets, 2,800 likes and 2,500 comments in two days (shown below).

Developments

Online Reaction

Over the next two days, people reacted negatively to the post. On March 27th, Twitter^[2] user @mickloud tweeted a photograph of a sign that reads "Human Resources Second Floor" and the caption "we're gonna need to have a chat." The post received more than 1,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left). The official Twitter^[3] account for Dictionary.com tweeted, "Bagel comes from the Old High German boug meaning 'a ring.' Please cut accordingly." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 270 retweets and 1,200 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center).

Some, however, disagreed with the majority negative opinion of this practice. Twitter user @brokeymcpoverty tweeted,^[4] im just gonna say it this is a good idea. do not @ me or ill call the cops they wont show up but my seriousbess will be illustrated." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 230 likes (shown below, right).

That day, Twitter^[7] published an events page about the controversy.

Panera's Response

On Twitter, Panera's verified Twitter account shared their thoughts on the tweet (shown below, left and right). They wrote,^[5] "Our team is divided over here. Do other people slice their bagel Bread Co style?" The account followed up by offering @AlekKrautmann free bagels. They wrote,^[6] "Hey Alek, next time bagels are on us, sliced however you'd like. 😉 Can you DM us?"

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the debate, including Mashable, ^[8] Lifehacker,^[9] For the Win,^[10] Eater^[11] and more.

Search Interest

External References