In Mary Poppins' London, nannies emerge when the wind changes, bannisters can be slid up instead of down, and kites can fly up to the highest heights. But here's something that only sounds like it belongs in Poppins' world, even though it happened on Twitter. A "friendly gent" in a blue coat left a big jar of bees behind in the London Review Bookshop in Bloomsbury, and the shop called on Twitter to find him.
"If you were or are the friendly gent (blue coat) who was in the shop half an hour ago and left a big jar of bees on the table in the poetry section, please come back and reclaim your jar of bees," the bookshop's account tweeted. "If you aren't, please RT until we find him."
if you were or are the friendly gent (blue coat) who was in the shop half an hour ago and left a big jar of bees on the table in the poetry section, please come back and reclaim your jar of bees. if you aren't, please rt until we find him #FindTheBeeGent
— LRB Bookshop (@LRBbookshop) March 16, 2019
Actually, the bookshop determined that they might be wasps. But the #FindTheBeeGent hashtag had already taken off.
charlie says they're too large to be bees but i've started the hashtag now so it's too late to change it
— LRB Bookshop (@LRBbookshop) March 16, 2019
Either way, the tweet went massively viral, because it's the most British thing to have happened ever.
This is the most English thing ever.
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) March 16, 2019
It amassed over 18,000 retweets in just three days. And soon enough, the jokes began to roll in.
Classic honeytrap
— Alyson Hunt (@VictorianAlyson) March 16, 2019
Especially ones regarding the "hive mind" of the Internet.
To 🐝 or not to 🐝—that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler of LRB to suffer
The bees and jars left outrageously by a gent clad in a blue coat
Or to take to Twitter's hive mind and hence find him…#FindTheBeeGent— Kathrina E. Jones (@kathrinawrites) March 16, 2019
And given that the jar of bees was left in the poetry section of the bookstore, it's only natural that there were some rhymes, as well.
In London Town,
A place afar
There was a gent
Who had a jar
Of bees or wasps-
I cannot say-
The problem is
He went awayHe went away
But they did not
And now a bookstore
Has a plot
Without an end
And lacking covers,
But charming all
Good bookstore lovers.
❤️🐝❤️🐝❤️🧐📚— ApocalypseGirlScout (@LDoty8) March 16, 2019
The whole thing sounds like the kind of story you read in a creative writing workshop in college.
But the jar of bees remained. The Man in the Blue Coat did not return. Richard gazed at the jar hour after hour. The swirling of the bees was full of meaning for Richard. He looked down to see his trembling hand on the lid…
— Dan Murphy (@bungdan) March 16, 2019
And some people think the so-called "bee gent" might very well be their soulmate, or at least the lead for a great romantic comedy.
✔️Friendly
✔️Blue Coat
✔️Jar of Bees
✔️Poetry Section
✔️Absent-minded enough to forget jar of bees but not absent-minded enough to be unfriendlyHonestly what more do I need
— Sarah Kay (@kaysarahsera) March 16, 2019
Granted, it seems like the whole thing might have been a joke to begin with, based on the bookshop's follow-up tweets.
many apologies – i know a lot of you are waiting for an update on the bee situation. twitter app kept crashing on phone! anyway here's what happened
— LRB Bookshop (@LRBbookshop) March 17, 2019
But even if it was all designed to remind us that physical bookstores still exist, we're here for that. And for more British/American humor, check this out: Survey That Says Most Americans Don't Recognize When British People Are Insulting Them.
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Diana Bruk Diana is a senior editor who writes about sex and relationships, modern dating trends, and health and wellness.Read moreFiled UnderViral NewsRead This Next40 Books Every Man Over 40 Should Have on His Bookshelf
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