Story about Boaty McBoatface - British research ship

Story about Boaty McBoatface - British research ship

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When it comes to people - in general - we don't tend to take our online presence too seriously.

We flick through set of failures and laugh at people sitting on the sidewalk, worst of all we troll people with hurtful comments as if it were of no consequence, our uncles and aunts

And that last point is the source of our wonderful little trip today.

Let's start by turning the clock back to 2014 ...

An announcement and a public poll

In 2014, the UK Government announced that funding for a new polar research vessel had been granted.

A lofty, ambitious project, authorized to replace two older ships in the British Antarctic Survey's fleet.

So, with construction work on a giant £ 150m, 15,000-ton survey ship commencing in July 2016, the UK Government decided to give it to taxpayers - who practically did

In March 2016, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) announced that members of the public are being asked to give a suggested naming suggestion to this expensive new maritime wonder.

Now, the NERC has a rough idea of what might be possible and has announced that they will have the final say on the boat's naming and the public choice may fail.

A silly joke is taken seriously

So with open and direct naming polls, things quickly went up from taming to total lousy.

James Hand, a former BBC employee and public relations expert, came to the attention of Twitter after (jokingly) proposed the name "Boaty McBoatface" - a homage to a placed owl

"What's the name of that owl?"

We all know how the Internet catches fire over time, so it should come as no surprise that Boaty McBoatface catches fire and goes viral.

Within 24 hours, it soared to the top of the poll - a poll with a total of 7,034 proposals.

While it's not surprising in retrospect, the Boaty McBoatface craze has swept across the UK and globally - James Hand himself even went as far as to apologize to NERC on Twitter after his suggestion.

But alas, it was too late - the stage was set for another brilliant victory on behalf of the internet… or was it?

And the winner is ...

The poll ended with Boaty McBoatface as the clear winner after receiving 33.16% of the total votes.

Now, that may not seem like much, but to look at the aspect, the hint for second place, Poppy-Mai, is only 10.66%!

However, exactly as they said, the NERC decided to go against the results of the probe - with Science Secretary Jo Johnson announcing on May 6, 2016, that the decision to name the ship was

Although a small consolation prize was awarded - one of the ship's two dives was named the Boaty McBoatface.

Though, if you ask me, they missed a tip there.

Radioactive dust

Unimaginable, people were a little angry that Boaty McBoatface - the clear winner of the country mile - was not selected.

People even started a petition that gathered more than 3,800 signatures calling for Sir David Attenborough to change his name to Sir Boaty McBoatface "for the sake of democracy and humor".

I think Sir Davey A is also a legend, but damn if he changed his name to Sir Boaty McBoatface he would have grown from man to God.

That said, a news clip of Sir David giggling at Boaty McBoatface did the rounds making the whole incident a little more hilarious.

NERC directors presented to the UK Government's Science and Technology Commission about how the ship was named after reality.

However, despite all the backlash they faced by not choosing the name Boaty McBoatface, the directors of NERC were quite satisfied with their poll and said they were delighted with all the merits.

All publicity is good publicity, as it is said!

Heritage of Boaty McBoatface

Despite the fact that the NERC committee over-applied the proposal chosen by the public and the poll was over, Boaty McBoatface's legacy is only just beginning.

In September 2016, the new stealth bomber developed by Northrop Grumman was officially named "Raider" ... from a survey of US Air Force servicemen and women ... and you guess

Cartoon Network tried to get into action in August when they aired an episode of the regular show titled "Spacey McSpaceTree" and in 2017, Hunstanton Marine Biosphere Reserve named a wing bird.

And, although not quite the same mode of transport, the new train that runs the Stockholm-Gothenburg line in Sweden is named Trainy McTrainface!

No matter where you searched for a few years after the NERC poll, you still can't escape the fun legacy of Boaty McBoatface!