Meet Boaty McBoatface

Ask and ye shall receive. But you better be careful what you ask for. We proffer this trite advice after the good-humoured British public were asked to name their new 128m-long Royal Research Ship due for launch in 2019.

"Imagine one of the world’s biggest research labs travelling to the Antarctic with your suggested name proudly emblazoned on the side," said Jo Johnson, the UK’s Science Minister.

Well, didn't that open the flood gates. Now the vote is in. The Brits have overwhelmingly voted for... RRS Boaty McBoatface.

Proposed by former BBC presenter James Hand, the Boaty McBoatface name and this whole comic naming competition has now gone viral on a global scale.

The droll mainstream media is running with it. And so are we. Our RV Investigator CSIRO research ship, second photo, sounds positively drab by comparison.

The Natural Environment Research Council who staged the competition has now been so swamped by support for RRS Boaty McBoatface that its site has crashed. It has now posted a message saying it's moving to a new server.

While other more serious suggestions such as RRS Henry Worseley, named after the British Antarctic explorer who sadly perished earlier this year while attempting the first solo crossing of the ice continent, and RRS David Attenborough, were running in second and third place respectively, Boaty McBoatface has won the support of the British public and the world.

The idea for an Open Vote to name the new $379-million-dollar research ship by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council is just a great example of modern-day democracy at work.

Here we are, with RRS Boaty McBoatface well out in front of the polling, proving that the people know a great name when they hear it. We like the idea of RSS Boaty McBoatface, especially in the guise shown hereabouts with matching smile and eyes.

But not everyone agrees. The former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West, has accused the public of going stark raving mad.

"It's the typical thing of the Brits going mad, normally silly season, not at this time of year," Lord West was quoted as saying, with a stiff upper lip and tongue in cheek.

But Mr Hand, the BBC presenter who suggested the name in the first place, says he was inspired by other entries like Clifford The Big Red Boat. Hand has now said he's sorry for his viral suggestion, but surely that is an utterly unnecessary apology.

We are saddened to hear a panel of professionals appointed by the Natural Environment Research Council WILL  have the final say on the future of Boaty McBoatface. Toy manufacturers in China were gearing up big. The news has also driven a stake through the hearts of the pro-democracy social community.

"There are two kinds of people: those who think Boaty McBoatface is a superb name, and those whom I don't want to associate with," wrote one passionate poster.

When it does finally launch in 2019, the research vessel will carry 90 scientist and support staff who, you just know, will be calling their floating home Boaty McBoatface while out there in the frigid extremes observing Happy Feet.

There is a lesson to be learned here. The Brits never miss the opportunity for a gag. Aussies aren’t far behind either.

When the Havenview Primary School in Tasmania proudly sponsored an emu in 2012 and asked their primary school kids to name it, they did with glee. Democracy prevailed then.

There’s a sign outside the emu’s enclosure that reads:

Yep, does us proud.

More on the future of Boaty McBoatface and this important breaking issue when it comes to hand.