For the ship originally proposed as Boaty McBoatface, see RRS Sir David Attenborough

Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for scientific research to be carried on the RRS Sir David Attenborough

History United Kingdom Name: Boaty McBoatface Commissioned: 2016[1] General characteristics Class and type: autonomous underwater vehicle (autosub long range)[2]

Boaty McBoatface is the lead boat of the Autosub Long Range-class[3] of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) used for scientific research that will be carried on the research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough owned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).[4] Because of its complexity and its extended range, NERC is classing it as an autosub long range autonomous vehicle.[5]

Naming [ edit ]

The name Boaty McBoatface was originally proposed in a March 2016 online poll to name the ship that would eventually be named RRS Sir David Attenborough.[6][7]

Former BBC Radio Jersey presenter James Hand jokingly suggested Boaty McBoatface, a name the public liked and that quickly became the most popular choice. The name has been described as a homage to Hooty McOwlface, an owl named through an "Adopt-A-Bird" programme in 2012 that became popular on the internet.[8]

Although Boaty McBoatface was the most popular suggestion in the #NameOurShip poll,[6] the suggestion to use the name for the mother ship was not followed,[9] and the Minister for Universities and Science, Jo Johnson, announced that the Boaty McBoatface name would be used for one of the submersibles aboard Sir David Attenborough instead.[10]

The results of the poll inspired similar results in other naming polls.[11][12][13][14][15] These incidents suggest there is still a clear deficit in understanding how to engage crowds and avoid failures and demonstrate the backlash from NERC’s neglecting the crowd’s choice, which resulted in a sophisticated reaction in other campaigns. This highlights the importance of meaningful engagement with the crowds.[16] The literature suggests, however, that when the public are meaningfully engaged, they feel valued and provide more productive inputs.[17][18]

History [ edit ]

The boat underwent advanced sea trials in 2016.[1] Its maiden voyage was on 3 April 2017, to research how Antarctic Bottom Water leaves the Weddell Sea and enters the Southern Ocean through Orkney Passage, south of Chile.[19][20][21]

Similar Experiences [ edit ]

Bjorn Baker's team at Sydney's Warwick Farm Racecourse caught wind of the crowdsourced name Boaty McBoatface and decided that they would pay homage to them by naming their new racehorse Horsey McHorseface.[22] The news of Horsey McHorseface broke out on social media after his win at the Lathan Arthur Thompson Memorial Maiden in Cessnock, Australia.[23] Horsey McHorseface was put to auction and sold for $17,325, but in 2017 was euthanized due to bone disease.[24][25]

Swedish transport company MTR Express conducted an online poll, not long after the one involving Boaty McBoatface, to name a new train on the Stockholm-Gothenburg line. Trainy McTrainface won the poll, and the train was named accordingly.[26]

Sydney Ferries allowed the public to name its fleet of Emerald-class ferries through a naming competition.[27] The most popular name was Boaty McBoatface but, as it had already been taken, the judges opted to go instead for the second-place choice, and one of the ferries was thus named Ferry McFerryface.[28] After the Maritime Union of Australia refused to crew the vessel in protest at the name, it entered service named Emerald 6 with a Ferry McFerryface sticker below the bridge.[29][30][31] It later emerged that the name Ferry McFerryface had received fewer than 200 votes in the poll; it had been selected by the New South Wales Transport Minister out of his personal preference for the name, which was subsequently changed.[32]

Megabus' United Kingdom operation hosted a Twitter poll in late 2017 to name some of their brand-new Plaxton Elite bodied Volvo B11RT interdeck coaches. Mega McMegaface won, and the name was applied to one of the vehicles.[33]

In March 2017 the Isle of Wight Council, which operates the Cowes Floating Bridge (a chain ferry across the Medina between Cowes and East Cowes), stated it was open to suggestions from residents for a new name for the vessel after originally registering it as Floating Bridge No.6. Despite council officials ruling out "Floaty McFloatface" as a name,[34] a petition was later created to name the vessel Floaty McFloatface, attracting over 2,000 signatures[35] and even caused the council to rescind its decision to veto the name.[36]

In 2016 Google released a grammar parsing software package, which they named Parsey McParseface.[37]

In December 2018 Formula E team Mahindra announced the name of their new car, which was called Electro McElectroFace

In 2018 a naming contest for a sculpture of a Muskox took place in Yellowknife, NWT Canada. Musky McMuskoxface was a name in the running, but did not win. The successful winning name was instead Elon Muskox.[38]

In October 2018 Shropshire Council named a gritter Gritty McGritface after a public vote.[39]

References [ edit ]