Second eli's comment that the experiment was contrived. Also the irony of this whole article and experiment is that it begins with the assumption that bell gave

Second eli's comment that the experiment was contrived. Also the irony of this whole article and experiment is that it begins with the assumption that bell gave a performance in the subway that was great and should have been arresting to passers-by. The article starts from the assumption that his performance was good (I'll just be contrarian and say I don't think it was) based on his celebrity, and then goes on to conclude that the people who were actually there are a bunch of fools. Maybe they all thought "that Bell's such a prima donna, I'm just gonna ignore him"