I, for one, did not vote for the name “Boaty McBoatface.”
In 2016, the British government opened a naming contest for a $300-million polar research ship up to the internet, and James Hand (a former BBC radio host) submitted the “McBoatface” name. Poor guy even apologized on Twitter about it afterward, saying for what it’s worth, he actually voted for a different name—
R.R.S. Sir David Attenborough.
Which, despite “Boaty McBoatface” winning with 124,109 votes, was the name they went with. They named one of its Long Range Autosubs “Boaty McBoatface” and took away a valuable lesson on community participation along with it.
But in reality, I think Sir David Attenborough would probably love the name “Boaty McBoatface.”
After all, the names of the 100+ documentaries that Attenborough has done over his lifetime are all named in a similar spirit. If one of his movies is about the planet—which most of them are—he and his team name it so. For instance, The Blue Planet, Blue Planet II, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, Planet Earth II, Planet Earth: A Celebration, The Living Planet, A Perfect Planet, Seven Worlds One Planet, Our Planet, and most recently Our Planet II.
That’s eleven documentaries basically named the same thing. Just saying.
I think I know what Sir David Attenborough voted to name the research vessel.
Do you know that despite its shaky christening the R.R.S. Sir David Attenborough is one of the reasons we’re able to continue to explore the more than eighty percent of ocean we know nothing about? The ship and the dozens of scientists and seafarers aboard do the work of helping us better understand our changing planet as global temperatures rise, ice melts, and sea levels rise.
And to add to that—unknown histories are being unlocked as captured ice samples contain a record of our climate stretching back hundreds of thousands of years. Digging into that ancient past helps us understand what the future holds for our planet.
But in reality, that kind of work is what Sir David Attenborough himself has been doing for his audience through his 100+ documentaries that all have the word planet in them.
A lifetime of digging in, helping us understand hundreds of thousands of years of our past and helping us understand what the future holds for our planet and everyone on it. And it’s really, really changing the way that people see their role in conservation, inviting people to see the state of our world through the tiny glorious details of bird mating to fish migration.
That’s a win.
A big win. A win that invites folks that will never get to be on a research vessel to the forefront of a movement that needs as many want-to-be Sir David Attenboroughs it can get.
Just saying.
I’m someone that has no science degree. I wish I did. But I don’t. And I’ll start conversations about climate change with disclaimers like that. But I’m trying to drop it. Because I am a vessel doing just as good at telling important stories that help people see their role in conservation without the degree title. Like how the R.R.S. Sir David Attenborough would do amazing research even if titled “Boaty McBoatface,” or masterpieces of animal footage are called Planet Earth II. If you’re a human being on this beautiful, beautiful planet, you’re qualified to protect it.
Beautiful Planet.
That’s probably the title for the next Attenborough documentary. Just saying.
If You’d Like:
When You Want to Learn About Plants, you’ll want:
The Private Life of Plants, Kingdom of Plants, Plants Behaving Badly, Life that Glows, The First Eden
For a Trip through Habitat-Info Heaven, watch:
Seven Worlds One Planet, Planet Earth, Planet Earth II, The Living Planet, Life
If You’re Looking for Colder Climates:
Frozen Planet, Life in the Freezer, The Living Planet
And for an Adventure in the Deep:
Seven Worlds One Planet, Blue Planet, Blue Planet II, Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough, Galapagos, Frozen Planet, First Life, Life, Nature’s Great Events, Planet Earth, The Trials of Life
For a Closer Look at Smaller Lives:
Life on Earth, Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives, Life in the Undergrowth, Life in Cold Blood, Madagascar, Micro Monsters, Life that Glows
Documentaries on Evolving and Adapting:
Life in Color, A Perfect Planet, Seven Worlds One Planet, Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates, Madagascar, First Life, Life, Life in Cold Blood, The Trials of Life, Lost Worlds & Vanished Lives, The First Eden, The Living Planet, Life on Earth, Life that Glows
For the Birds, baby:
Life in Color, Dynasties, Conquest of the Skies, The Life of Birds, Our Planet, Our Planet II
For Mammal Mayhem, watch:
A Perfect Planet, Seven Worlds One Planet, Our Planet, Dynasties, Blue Planet II, Planet Earth II, Attenborough’s Passion Projects, The Hunt, Life Story, Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates, Natural Curiosities, Africa, Galapagos, Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild, Madagascar, Life, Nature’s Great Events, Tiger: Spy in the Jungle, Planet Earth, The Life of Mammals, The Trials of Life, Life on Earth
Gabrielle Eisma graduated Calvin with a BFA in studio art and writing in 2022. She’s from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she now works as a writer and illustrator for books for (mostly) children and middle grade readers.
