Great Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council has a $375 million (CAD) research vessel set for construction, and for some reason, the council thought it would be a smart idea to ask the Internet to come up with a name for the prestigious ship.
The NERC has said that the boat, which will be most advanced British vessel ever, is intended for polar research to “put the U.K. at the forefront of ocean research for years to come.” It will be ready to sail the waters of Antarctica and the Arctic, carrying a team of 90 scientists and support staff by 2019.
But when asked to come up with something that was both clever and practical, the public proved exactly why it should be left out of naming important things — as the current leading name is Boaty McBoatface. Yes, Boaty McBoatface.
Since the polls opened, the Internet has spoken and Boaty McBoatface could seriously end up being the ship’s name. As of right now it’s hard to say how far ahead McBoatface is in the race, since the “Name Our Ship” website crashed over the weekend, after having too much (no doubt Boaty McBoatface) traffic. It’s still down today.
As of Sunday, the runner up suggestion was RRS Henry Worsley, named after the British explorer who died in January while trying to complete a solo trek across the Antarctic.
Some other tongue-in-cheek submissions included: It’s Bloody Cold Here, Usain Boat, Ice Ice Baby, and Notthetitanic.
Recently, the City of Toronto asked residents to name the Gardiner Expressway Underpass and if Torontonians are anything like the cheeky Brits, we’re sure the underpass will be christened something as wonderfully ridiculous.
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