THE INTERNET HAS IT: ‘Boaty McBoatface’ Wins $370M Ship-Naming Comp

As the Natural Environment Research Council‘s poll to name their new $370m polar research ship closed, one entry reigned unequivocally supreme: Boaty McBoatface.

The entry – put forward by former BBC radio presenter James Hand – raked in a ridiculous 124,109 votes, four times that of second place entry RRS Poppy-Mai, named after a 16-month-old girl with incurable cancer. (Hey, ya feeling guilty yet?)


Third place went to RRS Henry Worsley, the British explorer who died earlier this year while attempting to become the first man to cross the Antarctic unaided earlier this year, fourth went to the aptly named RRS It’s bloody cold here (accurate), and
fifth to RRS David Attenborough
Luckily / unluckily for NERC and everyone involved, they have final naming rights. 



“Thank you for all your overwhelming interest and support,” they said on Twitter.

“The final decision will be announced in due course.”



Look. Even if NERC decides not to side with the people on this one, Hand’s efforts and British ingenuity will not be in vein.

Cruise giant Royal Caribbean approached him to name their newest and biggest vessel, Harmony of the Seas, and even mocked up what that could potentially look like. These are the times we live in, folks.

If the top entries show us anything, it’s that the internet and naming things do not go well for hapless corporations. (Remember when Mountain Dew was forced to pull their naming comp in 2014 after 4chan ensured the winner was ‘Hitler Did Nothing Wrong‘?)

But for what it’s worth, RRS Notthetitanic not even making the top 20 is a fucking travesty.

TOP 20 ENTRIES:

  1. RRS Boaty McBoatface – 124,109
  2. RRS Poppy-Mai – 34,371
  3. RRS Henry Worsley – 15,231
  4. RRS It’s bloody cold here – 10,679
  5. RRS David Attenborough – 10,248
  6. RRS Usain Boat – 8,710
  7. RRS Boatimus Prime – 8,365
  8. RRS Katherine Giles – 7,567
  9. RRS Catalina de Aragon – 6,826
  10. RRS I like big boats & I cannot lie – 6,452
  11. RRS Pillar of Autumn – 5,823
  12. RRS What iceberg? – 5,250
  13. RRS Boaty McBoatface the Return – 4,730
  14. RRS Boat – 4,507
  15. RRS Pingu – 4,343
  16. RRS Poppy-Mai – Warrior Princess – 4,287
  17. RRS Thanks for all the fish – 4,236
  18. RRS Big metal floaty thingy-thing – 3,909
  19. RRS Ice Ice Baby – 3,673
  20. RRS Boatasaurus Rex – 3,371

Source: NERC.
Photo: NERC.

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