Original: In a curious experiment initiated by Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten , Bell donned a baseball cap and played as an incognito street busker at the Metro subway station L'Enfant Plaza in Washington , D.C. on January 12 , 2007 .
Simplified: In an unusual experiment the Washington Post asked Bell to stand in the street and busk ( play his violin ) by the entrance to a Washington Metro station one cold morning in January 2007 .