  We propose a novel explanation for the Hercules stream consistent with recent
measurements of the extent and pattern speed of the Galactic bar. We have
adapted a made-to-measure dynamical model tailored for the Milky Way to
investigate the kinematics of the solar neighborhood (SNd). The model matches
the 3D density of the red clump giant stars (RCGs) in the bulge and bar as well
as stellar kinematics in the inner Galaxy, with a pattern speed of 39 km
s$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-1}$. Cross-matching this model with the $Gaia$ DR1 TGAS data
combined with RAVE and LAMOST radial velocities, we find that the model
naturally predicts a bimodality in the $U\!-\!V$-velocity distribution for
nearby stars which is in good agreement with the Hercules stream. In the model,
the Hercules stream is made of stars orbiting the Lagrange points of the bar
which move outward from the bar's corotation radius to visit the SNd. While the
model is not yet a quantitative fit of the velocity distribution, the new
picture naturally predicts that the Hercules stream is more prominent inward
from the Sun and nearly absent only a few $100$ pc outward of the Sun, and
plausibly explains that Hercules is prominent in old and metal-rich stars.
