In March, the National Environment Research Agency (NERC) decided to let the internet name its new Antarctic research vessel. The NERC challenged the British public to come up with an ‘inspirational’ title for the new £200 million vessel.
In a spectacular yet not unexpected backfire for the organisation, the name Boaty McBoatface quickly emerged as the front-runner, with the potential name for the vessel even gaining its own Twitter account after the name was suggested by former BBC radio presenter James Hand.
Now the internet has spoken, and at the conclusion of the poll Boaty unequivocally took first place with over 124 thousand votes, four times that of second place name Poppy-Mai; named after a 16-year-old girl with incurable cancer. The NERC closed the campaign this morning, stating that a final decision is yet to be made.
Thank you all for supporting our #NameOurShip campaign. The final decision will be announced in due course. pic.twitter.com/yg4VHvNrm5
— NERC (@NERCscience) April 17, 2016
Hand apologised for the name after it gained such huge support, and after it won he tweeted;
Thanks to everyone who took #BoatyMcBoatface in right spirit. Final say goes to @NERCscience, and there’s plenty of worthy winners.
— James Hand (@JamesHand) April 17, 2016
The NERC made it clear from the beginning of the campaign that the naming poll would be taken as a suggestion only, as they reserved the right to make the final decision on the name. British Minister for Science Jo Johnson commented after the conclusion of the poll that it was unlikely that Boaty McBoatface would be used. “You won’t be surprised to know that we want something that fits the mission and captures the spirit of scientific endeavour,” he said. “The public has come up with some fantastic and very imaginative suggestions”.
Rounding out the top five suggestions were the RSS ‘Henry Worsley’, the RSS ‘It’s bloody cold here’ and the RSS ‘David Attenborough’. The public have also made it clear on Twitter that there will be a significant backlash if Boaty doesn’t win.
@NERCscience If you don’t call it Boaty McBoatface I’ll hate science forever.
— Lo Five (@LOFIVE_) April 17, 2016
Big mistake if Nerc overrule Boaty McBoatface in favour of something else. #justiceforBoatyMcBoatface
— Claire (@pixiepippi) April 17, 2016
As #BoatyMcBoatface research vessel will spread more awareness, knowledge & good humor for science than it could with any other name.
— David Grinspoon (@DrFunkySpoon) April 17, 2016
Even if the NERC backflip on the poll, we could still see Boaty McBoatface make an appearance – as part of Royal Caribbean’s new fleet. The company have approached James Hand to name their newest cruise ship and have even photoshopped the possibility.
BREAKING NEWS: @JamesHand to name next Royal Caribbean ship: https://t.co/OOwCEJn1c7 pic.twitter.com/4Iw3KPdg1E
— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) April 1, 2016
Even if Boaty doesn’t win, it surely won’t be long before another naive organisation gives the naming rights of its latest project to an online poll – a practice that occurs with surprising regularity.
