The other day in Mr. Zanetti’s statistics class, we were learning about voluntary response samples when we learned of a poll with some very interesting results. For context, a voluntary response sample is a sample made up of participants who have voluntarily chosen to participate as a part of the sample group. Due to the nature of the sample, it is very biased. To demonstrate this bias, imagine if Mr. Berrios sent a survey to every student in the school asking about their thoughts on the block scheduling. The people who respond are more likely to have a strong opinion towards either side. Students who don’t care one way or the other are not very likely to respond to the survey at all.

In the example we learned about in class, the voluntary response survey was to decide the name of a new £200 million polar scientific research ship. The boat’s purpose was to conduct scientific polar research for the UK government’s Polar Explorer Program. The British Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) decided that they would conduct a naming survey for their new boat online.

Then the Internet happened…

On March 17, 2016, voting for the ship’s name began through the #NameOurShip online poll. Almost immediately, people began submitting humorous and silly names. Of the many submitted, some of the most popular included RRS It’s Bloody Cold Here, RRS Boatimus Prime, and RRS I Like Big Boats&I Cannot Lie. Despite those all being great names, one name stood out among the rest.

That name was Boaty McBoatface. 

Through the #NameOurShip online poll, BBC Radio Jersey presenter James Hand coined the humorous suggestion Boaty McBoatface. Within hours, the name was submitted and quickly became the most popular choice, leading by over 8,000 votes. Three days later, it was in the lead by 20,000 votes. By the time of the poll’s closure on the evening of April 16th, RRS Boaty McBoatface had emerged as the runaway winner with 125,109 votes, more than three times that of its closest contender. 

While the name Boaty McBoatface is definitely silly, the name wasn’t made up completely randomly. It was described as a homage to Hooty McOwlface, an owl named through an “Adopt-a-Bird” program in 2012 that became popular on the Internet (though that name sounds very silly too).

Now, of course while many thought the name was funny, that wasn’t the case for everyone. Many of the people at NERC and those in the British government were not amused. The British Science Minister at the time, Jo Johnson (brother of Boris Johnson), said “This boat is going to be doing science on some of the most important issues facing humanity. Global warming, climate changing, rising sea-levels. So you want a name that fits the gravity and the importance of the subjects that this boat is going to be doing science into.” The ship ended up being named Sir David Attenborough, after (who would’ve guessed?) Sir David Attenborough, the British zoologist and broadcaster. James Hand actually did apologize for suggesting the name, and said “I would say 90% of the entries were really quite funny so I thought, I’ll throw one into the ring and just see what happens. I’ve apologized profusely. I made the suggestion but the storm that’s been created, it’s got legs of its own.”

Luckily, for all the comedy fans in the UK (everyone except Jo Johnson), the tale of Boaty McBoatface wasn’t over. The heads at NERC decided that they would name one of the three autonomous underwater vehicles on the main ship after the real winning submission.

This entire series of events sparked a new Internet term, “McBoatfacing.” McBoatfacing is defined as “making the critical mistake of letting the internet decide things.” The New York Times wrote that to be McBoatfaced was to allow people to “deliberately make their choices not in order to foster the greatest societal good, but, instead, to mess with you.”

There have actually been numerous other cases of McBoatfacing occurring since the original in 2016. A few notable examples and some of my personal favorites are listed below.

Trainy McTrainface – The result of a survey done by Swedish rail company MTRX to name a new train on the Stockholm to Gothenburg line. 

  Mega McMegaface – Megabus United Kingdom held a Twitter poll in late 2017 to name some of their brand new inter-deck coaches. Mega McMegaface won, and the name was given to one of the vehicles.

Skatey McSkateface – In June 2019, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council named a new skate park Skatey McSkateface after a public vote.

Dishy McFlatface – SpaceX named the terminal used to receive internet signals from its Starlink constellation of low-Earth orbiting satellites Dishy McFlatface.

2021 Buschy McBusch Race 400 –  Busch Beer held a contest to name one of the two races it sponsored for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series, held at Kansas Speedway on May 2. The winning name chosen was 2021 Buschy McBusch Race 400, with the race itself coincidentally won by NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.