MY MENTAL SAFE SPACE

In these strange times we all need a safe space in our minds. I realized this morning while doing the breakfast dishes, after seeing some very disturbing images and news, that I have a safe space in my mind. I found myself laughing out loud, almost uncontrollably. What set off this moment of levity? Boaty McBoatface, of course!

In 2016, the Natural Resource Research Council of Great Britain decided to ask the public, via the internet, to name a new polar research vessel. The NRRC offered some names of polar explorers, scientists and others that would be appropriate, but left it open for proposed names. The winning name, by a huge margin, was the RSS Boaty McBoatface. The NRRC decided not to use that name, but in a nod to the humor of the public, they did use that name for a remotely-operated research submersible (an actual yellow submarine).

Maybe it is my strange sense of humor, but I find this episode of trusting the public for something that one should never trust the public to do, quite hilarious. And it seems that in some of the most dire of times, I break out in a huge smile or audible laugh when my brain brings up Boaty McBoatface. I simply think it is hilarious, and always will.

So yes, Boaty McBoatface is my safe space. Thank you, Boaty, for being a comfort to me.

---