Britain's navy is faced with a dilemma:
what to name its warships. Traditionally, the choicest names (Trafalgar, Formidable, and so on) were reserved for old-fashioned warships, with
submarines and mass-produced ships getting more mediocre names, often
alliterated and recycled. Some series of ships are also named after places
(a common, if not quite stirring, occurrence),
which is why the Royal Navy's latest assault ships have less than
awe-inspiring names like Largs Bay,
"Then you get the problem of personal nostalgia," he said. "Someone gets into a position of authority in the navy and says 'My granddaddy served in the war on HMS Beetle and I want the new destroyer called Beetle'."
(via Lake Effect)