In case you needed more evidence that the internet, left unfettered, is amazing: Boaty McBoatface has now topped the poll to name an upcoming polar research vessel.
Image Credit: NERC/PA
Last month, the Natural Environment Research Council opened a poll, asking internet strangers what they should name their new boat. Rather than going with a shortlist of options, they made it wide open — so predictably, the internet rallied behind Boaty McBoatface.
The option collected 124,109 votes, four more times than second-placed RRS Poppy-Mai. Honorable mention goes to RRS It’s bloody cold here, which rolled in fourth, with 10,679 votes. Before you get too excited, remember that the final naming decision does rest with the NERC.
It’s been a good year for the internet: first a bunch of US hockey fans sent an enforcer to the NHL All-Star game (and won him a car); now a major scientific research project is getting a dumb (if endlessly hilarious) name suggestion.
What about the former BBC presenter who started the whole thing? Well, he’s doing an admirable job of not gloating.
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