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Online Voters Name British Vessel 'Boaty McBoatface' (telegraph.co.uk)

Britain's Natural Environment Research Council conducted an online poll to select the name for their new advanced polar research vessel. Though it cost more than 200 million pounds and represents their fleet's largest and most advanced research vessel, when the voting closed yesterday the clear winner, was the name 'Boaty McBoatface'. The name received over 124,000 votes, while the nearest runner-up -- Poppy-Mai -- received just 34,371, and the fourth-most popular suggestion, "RRS It's Bloody Cold Here," received just 10,679 votes. "I am grateful to everyone who has participated in the competition," Britain's science minister told The Daily Telegraph, though he added "You won't be surprised to know that we want something that fits the mission and captures the spirit of scientific endeavor." The Telegraph takes this as a signal that the ministers "were unlikely to endorse the result."

1 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. What is in a name? by manu0601 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    For a non native speaker, it is not obvious why this name is wrong. Is there a pun, or a reference to a cultural item unknown to me?

    A wild guess is that it looks like child talk. Is that all?