Boaty McBoatface officially won a contest to suggest a name for Britain's new polar research ship, but whether the ship ever actually carries that moniker is doubtful, according to government name droppers.
The Natural Environment Research Council learned the hard way about turning ideas over to the collective whims of the Internet after BBC radio presenter James Hand offered the name Boaty McBoatface as a joke, according to
The Guardian.
The suggestion went viral and the RRS Boaty McBoatface received 124,109 votes, easily outdistancing the RRS Poppy Mai (34,371), named after a 16-month-old girl with incurable cancer, noted The Guardian.
"We've had an extremely high volume of suggestions and will now review all of the suggested names," said the
NERC's contest webpage. "The final decision will be announced in due course."
Other top vote getters, according to The Guardian, were the RRS Henry Worsley (15,231), the RRS It's Bloody Cold Here (10,679) and the RRS David Attenborough (10,284).
Hand apologized last month for the Boaty McBoatface suggestion after it took off.
Jo Johnson, the science minister, suggested to the
Daily Telegraph that Boaty McBoatface may not be what the council's ministers were looking for, regardless of its popularity.
"You won't be surprised to know that we want something that fits the mission and captures the spirit of scientific endeavor," Johnson said. "I am grateful to everyone who has participated in the competition. The public has come up with some fantastic and very imaginative suggestions (for the name). We are reviewing all of them. We will come to a decision in due course."
The potential Boaty McBoatface is the United Kingdom's largest and most advanced research ship, which would allow scientists to carry out research safely during the harsh winter months while staying at sea for longer periods, according to the
unnamed ship's website.
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