Boaty, it's cold outside...
March 13, 2017 9:28 AM   Subscribe

 
Not my Boaty McBoatface.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:37 AM on March 13, 2017 [3 favorites]


Welp, here come the McBoatface Truthers...
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 9:39 AM on March 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


Well that went downhill.... rather swiftly.
posted by mce at 9:42 AM on March 13, 2017 [5 favorites]


So the name lives on — albeit in a way that makes less sense, because a submersible vehicle isn't actually a boat.

Of course, submarines are called boats by convention. And as the Boatface submersibles are meant to be carried and launched by larger ships, they meet the official definition of "boat". Get it right NPR

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-a-submarine-called-a-boat-and-not-a-ship
posted by anazgnos at 9:46 AM on March 13, 2017 [6 favorites]


I'll admit to getting caught up in the hype when I bought a new bandsaw last year.
posted by bondcliff at 9:47 AM on March 13, 2017 [4 favorites]


GOOGLE MCBOATFACE!
WAKE UP SHIPLE!
THE SUB IS A LIE!
posted by Frayed Knot at 9:50 AM on March 13, 2017 [9 favorites]


Of course, submarines are called boats by convention. And as the Boatface submersibles are meant to be carried and launched by larger ships, they meet the official definition of "boat". Get it right NPR

U know who else called them boats?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:50 AM on March 13, 2017 [11 favorites]


And, actually, props to NERC. The Internet contest was a dumb idea, glad to see they kept their sense of humor (and the absurd) and found a not-unreasonable compromise.
posted by Frayed Knot at 9:53 AM on March 13, 2017 [9 favorites]


All joking aside, this is pretty interesting work they're doing:

The lead scientist Prof Alberto Naveira Garabato, from the University of Southampton, said: “The Orkney Passage is a key choke-point to the flow of abyssal waters in which we expect the mechanism linking changing winds to abyssal water warming to operate.

“We will measure how fast the streams flow, how turbulent they are, and how they respond to changes in winds over the Southern Ocean.

“Our goal is to learn enough about these convoluted processes to represent them in the models that scientists use to predict how our climate will evolve over the 21st century and beyond.”


Kinda important.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:56 AM on March 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


Welp, here come the McBoatface Truthers...

The Truthy McTruthfaces, I call them.
posted by univac at 12:10 PM on March 13, 2017 [4 favorites]


The R/V Thomas G. Thompson is a heroic honorable and respectable vessel and is often called, by close acquaintances, the Tommy Thompson. Euphony is no shame.
posted by clew at 12:15 PM on March 13, 2017


Subby McSubface, surely?
posted by Happy Dave at 12:31 PM on March 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


The R/V Thomas G. Thompson is a heroic honorable and respectable vessel and is often called, by close acquaintances, the Tommy Thompson. Euphony is no shame.

Probably because Tommy Thompson was actually a guy who was instrumental in developing early subsea technology. I bet they're regretting that choice of name these days, though.
posted by olinerd at 1:15 PM on March 13, 2017


Das Booty McBootface
posted by Sparx at 1:39 PM on March 13, 2017 [10 favorites]


The Tommy Gregory Thompson on the lam is a great story, but the research vessel is named for Thomas Gordon Thompson who was a founding oceanographical chemist (and founded the UW department). And owned his own island for a while, which he bought with his stamp collection, and I think puts him ahead of the gold-bug for enviability.
posted by clew at 9:56 PM on March 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


Hooray! I'm glad boaty mcboatface is sailing the seas and researching the research.
posted by chapps at 11:52 PM on March 13, 2017


Having seen the pictures, I am unreasonably delighted that it's painted yellow! An actual yellow submarine. A ROBOT yellow submarine named Boaty McBoatFace. I will take moments of irrational happiness where I can get them.
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:18 PM on March 14, 2017 [1 favorite]


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