Internet Nostalgia

Let’s Revisit Boaty McBoatface

Did you know they switched boats on us?

Welcome to part 11 of our Internet Nostalgia series, which looks back at phenomena that captured the internet’s imagination and attention for a fleeting moment and then vanished as everyone moved on to something else. This series looks back at those olden times and what they told us about the internet and ourselves. If you have a suggested topic, email me at williamfleitch@yahoo.com. Last week, we looked at the Ice Bucket Challenge. This week: Boaty McBoatface.

Date: March 2016.

The story: The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a perfectly normal, rather boring U.K. organization that funds scientific endeavors and provides educational services in the field of environmental studies. They’re good people. And they do good things. But in March 2016, they made a mistake: They diddled with the internet.

NERC opened a poll asking the public to provide them with a name for a 423-foot research vessel. The organization made it clear that its team would pick their own name and that the poll was just for input. But a radio DJ joked that they should name it the undeniably hilarious name “Boaty McBoatface.” And boy, did it catch on. The poll went global, and millions of people around the world…