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#BagelGate, the train fight that rocked social media, gave us some glorious jokes

"He's got a bagel on 'is 'ead."

Rachel Thompson

on February 28, 2017

The nation was transfixed Monday afternoon after footage emerged of an incident on a train involving bagels, which has been dubbed #Bagelgate.

A brawl erupted on a train in London when a group of passengers placed bagels on other passengers' heads.

Some people didn't take too kindly to having a piece of bread placed on their head, and some resorted to throwing the bagels out the window of the train, while others resorted to intimidating behaviour, which resulted in police intervention.

During the fray, a cacophony of shouting and chanting can be heard as passengers sing: "he's got a bagel on 'is 'ead" [he's got a bagel on his head]".

The British Transport Police (BTP) -- who can be seen intervening at the end of the video -- issued a stark warning to those considering harming bagels.

Some suggested the BTP should be renamed to better reflect #Bagelgate.

Someone named Mark took to Twitter to express his disapproval at the incident, suggesting that #Bagelgate was akin to something likely to arise in Britain's poshest supermarket, Waitrose.

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A chap named Andrew thought the "old bill" -- or police -- intervention was like getting told off by the headteacher at school.

An employee of the Royal Albert Hall joked that #Bagelgate could well get its own stage production. Fingers crossed!

Naturally, Brexit got a mention. And some raised an important point about how the EU would feel about #Bagelgate.

Is #Bagelgate indicative of the post-Brexit condition?

Some pointed the finger at other offenders on the train, who were guilty of another crime: littering.

"He's got a bagel ON 'IS 'EAD" is British poetry at its best.

The overwhelming feeling, however, was that #Bagelgate is entirely representative of modern Britain and it's a far cry from the Great British Bake Off.

Welcome to Britain, everyone.

Rachel Thompson

Features Editor

Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.

A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.

Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.