Robbed Of Boaty McBoatface, The Internet Has Hatched A Genius Plan To Save Democracy

When the UK’s National Environment Research Council first decided they would have a public poll to help them choose a name for their new $380m polar research ship they couldn’t have known how long it would haunt them for. When Twitter user @JamesHand suggested the name Boaty McBoatface it soared to the top of the poll, but the NERC weren’t super impressed by the jokey mcjokename and decided instead to exercise their right to ignore the poll (which was in the small print from the beginning) and instead name the ship after another, more sensible suggestion: David Attenborough.

In a sap to outraged fans of Boaty who have declared the whole thing evidence of the death of democracy and possibly also science, one of the ship’s small robotic sub-sea vessels has been given the name instead. That’s not enough to placate everyone (though @JamesHand tweeted in favour of it) and so there is now a petition on change.org for David Attenborough – the naturalist and documentarian who turns 90 today, not the ship – to be renamed Boaty McBoatface.

My view on #BoatyMcBoatface living on! Won't be saying anything else, so please contact @NERCscience for more. pic.twitter.com/NtHJyfeMRc

— James Hand (@JamesHand) May 6, 2016

As the petition states, “Sir David, you are our only hope. We implore you to legally change your name to Sir Boaty McBoatface, so that the research vessel bearing your name will be forced to follow suit.”

Whether this would mean his documentaries also have their names changed, giving us Faraway Places – The Quests Of Boaty McBoatface and Sir Boaty McBoatface’s Rise Of Animals: Triumph Of The Vertebrates isn’t explained by the petition. To be fair, it’s only gathered 57 signatures so far and will need a lot more votey mcvotefaces to get anywhere.