The Boaty McBoatface poll has triumphed, kind of
LONDON -- Boaty McBoatface lives! But not quite in the way the public wanted.
A small exploratory sub-sea vessel on board the massive research ship at the heart of that infamous public vote has been officially given the name.
The boat itself, meanwhile, is to be called the Sir David Attenborough.
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Boaty McBoatface was the world's top choice for the £200 million ($290 million) polar research vessel in the Natural Environement Research Council (NERC)'s online vote.
124,109 voted for it, with all other suggestions trailing far, far behind.
However, Science Minister Jo Johnson announced Friday that the NERC had decided to ignore them completely and name it after veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
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It's "a name that captures the ship’s scientific mission and celebrates the broadcaster’s contribution to natural science," apparently.
BUT, Boaty will be the name of the ship's little remotely operated sub-sea vehicle, which will venture off into subaqueous worlds to collect data and samples in the Arctic and Antarctic.
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"The ship has captured the imaginations of millions, which is why we’re ensuring that the Boaty name lives on through the sub-sea vehicle that will support the research crew, and the polar science education programme that will bring their work to life," Johnson said.
Attenborough, who turns 90 this month, has been a fixture of British TV over a career spanning six decades.
Boaty's career, meanwhile, is just about to begin.
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Tim Chester was Senior Editor, Real Time News in Los Angeles. Before that he was Deputy Editor of Mashable UK in London. Prior to joining Mashable, Tim was a Senior Web Editor at Penguin Random House, helping to relaunch the Rough Guides website and other travel brands. He was also a writer for Buzzfeed, GQ and The Sunday Times, covering everything from culture to tech and current affairs. Before that, he was Deputy Editor at NME.COM, overseeing content and development on the London-based music and entertainment site. Tim loves music and travel and has combined these two passions at festivals from Iceland to Malawi and beyond.
