He is especially known for workshops he has led around the world constructing very large models of four-dimensional polytopes (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), These extraordinary activities expose participants to important conceptual ideas they might never experience otherwise... his alternative introductions to mathematical topics are often effective for engaging students who are not attracted to traditional mathematics teaching.
"In additional to the intellectual stimulation, you get more cream cheese, because there is slightly more surface area." Finally, maximum cream cheese intake problem solved.
Sure if instead of making a solid line cut around the middle you use a wave or zig-zag you'd add more cream cheese.
Or start from the top and cut in a spiral pattern like peeling an apple and you can get a long strip of bagel with tons of cream cheese application surface.
Well, origin and source of popularity are two different things. While most yeast-free methods of baking can be traced to Jewish roots, the bagel in it's current, cream-cheese dressed form was made popular (and for most intents "invented") in the US, in much the same way as the minced beef introduced to Hamburg in the 19th century by Russian sailors bears little similarity to the food that made McDonalds successful.
http://www.georgehart.com/research/hartbiog.html