On Sunday morning, as reporter Colleen Hagerty rode the uptown 6 train in New York City, she heard something clinking around underneath the seats.
She told BuzzFeed News she watched as a man reached down to retrieve an unopened bottle of alcohol in a plastic bag.
The man proceeded to pop open the bottle with ease.
“Other people were starting to laugh and pay attention,” Hagerty recalled.
Then, Hagerty witnessed another man retrieve an empty liquor container on the subway floor, and watched as the first guy poured what looked like sparkling wine or champagne into the second guy's empty bottle — that, again, was found seconds ago on the subway. The two strangers clinked glasses and shared the bottle of alcohol.
Hagerty joked on Twitter that it was "peak NYC." Her tweet has gone viral, with now over 61,000 retweets.
A full bottle of wine just rolled out from under a subway seat and now these 2 strangers popped it open & are drink… https://t.co/H6lH2x47Vr
A lot of people were inspired by this hilarious, random — and a bit gross — encounter. They joked that whoever left the wine was hoping to forge a friendship.
@colleenhagerty What an awesome idea. Hide wine throughout the subway system and see the friendships and connections that form
@colleenhagerty this renews my faith in humanity
@MasterTes @colleenhagerty there are still some good things in this world.
There were lots of positive comments about this being a depiction of a "beautiful" and "united" America.
This is such a beautiful image. God bless America! 🥃🍷🇺🇸 https://t.co/2BF4BU9dNh
If only the whole world could be these two guys sharing a bottle of surprise wine on the NYC subway. https://t.co/0RQN4hYr17
Unity. https://t.co/dHXnNIcLUG
But other folks were like, wayment — what just happened now?
@colleenhagerty i have so many questions
New Yorkers debated whether they'd want to touch, or consume, anything that's made contact with the dirty-ass subway floors.
@colleenhagerty @pencil_skirts New Yorkers would never drink something that touched a subway floor. Get out.
@colleenhagerty those people are crazy. No way I'm drinking anything that rolls out from under the seat of subway.
As cool as this is, I can't say I'd ever drink anything I found under a NYC subway seat! #CheersToThat https://t.co/sbajklB6h7
Someone else argued that New Yorkers "avoid other people like they have the plague (because they probably do)."
I dont know what NYC you're talking about. The one I live in, we avoid other people like they have the plague (beca… https://t.co/cDIrOyKyCE
Which, well, is apparently the cost of having any contact with strangers — even verbal.
In related news, two people in NYC now have the plague https://t.co/ejrYuGe1iM
Of course, there were then cinematic jokes about the spontaneous moment. Like, it being an opening scene to a future NY NY Land movie.
@colleenhagerty @TimOBrien Opening scene of NY NY Land?
Or taken straight from Judd Apatow's drawing board.
@colleenhagerty congrats to Benedict cumberbatch and Black Best Friend In The Latest Judd Apatow Movie
Hagerty said weird subway moments no longer shock her anymore, but she's thoroughly enjoyed reading all the other hilarious stories people are sharing.
.@colleenhagerty I was able to open a Rite Aid with what rolled out from under my subway seat #peaknyc
"It doesn't sound like this type of thing was a totally isolated incident – I've had people tweet at me about getting free shots on the subway!" she said.