1.) When it comes to cream cheese, it’s simple

Instead of spreading cream cheese over the entire half at once, and then finally getting to enjoy, the slices allow you to spread as you go, keeping the cream cheese fresh. The spreading is also much easier, by swiping up and down rather than spinning the bagel in a circle.

2.) It makes for the best snack, ever

By slicing the bagel in half, it’s either all or nothing. You can’t take a couple bites and save it for later. You can grab a couple slices, lather them in cream cheese, and snack away. And snacking with others is no problem. If you want to share a bagel that’s been sliced in half, you’ll be stuck making a moral decision on who gets the flavorful top and who’s stuck with the bland bottom. The slices are perfect for giving to others, if you so desire.

3.) The perfect ratio

The thin structure of the bread sliced bagel piece covered in cream cheese makes for the perfect ratio of cream cheese to bagel. A bagel sliced traditionally leads to too much bagel, forcing you to leave an unappetizing blob of cream cheese on top in order to balance the ratio.

4.) The famous cinnamon crunch

That there is enough said. But in case you’re uncultured and have never experienced this eighth wonder of the world, please allow for me to share. The cinnamon crunch bagel must have been made to be bread sliced. Unlike a normal bagel, the cinnamon crunch has no hole in the center, which makes for glorious, full, thin slices. The crunchy cinnamon topping rests on the side of each slice, adding a satisfying crunch to each bite.

5.) It’s just a St. Louis thing

To be fair, it is St. Louis Bread Co. Therefore, our apparently infamous tradition should set a standard for bagel eating around the world. The bread sliced bagel is a modern day technological advancement.