Harambe wins 'hijacked' naming competition for new water slide
Surely after the Boaty McBoatface saga, you'd think caution would be exercised when it comes to public naming competitions.
Yet the much-loved internet star that is Harambe, the gorilla who died at Cincinnati Zoo, has ended up becoming the name of a water slide in Hobart, Australia. Albeit not for long, it seems.
The Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre ran a competition on its Facebook page, announcing the winning entry in a post on Tuesday evening. The post has since been deleted, but a screenshot made its way on to reddit.
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But what the aquatic centre missed is that Harambe is quite the internet sensation, bringing the world plenty of laughter (and sadness) through a litany of dank memes in the months since it passed.
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Soon enough, the council running the centre "got" the joke, and yeah, you can't say they're pleased.
"We were keen to promote a new piece of children's play equipment in our leisure pool and for the public to feel some ownership of it, so we ran a naming competition," General Manager of the City of Hobart, Mr Nick Heath, said in a statement sent to Mashable Australia.
"We honoured the winning entry because the meaning behind the name aligned with the centre's commitment to community participation in aquatic and wellness activities. The competition was run in good faith so it is unfortunate that what was intended to celebrate a popular new addition to the pool was hijacked by some."
As for the guy who won the naming competition and a family pass to the centre, 16-year-old Jayden Boost, he told Mashable Australia via Messenger that he hasn't been contacted by the council since the posts were taken down. Give the boy his family pass!
It's not clear if the council will continue on with the Harambe name, but in the meantime, RIP Harambe, the gorilla who died.
