Big Ben To Be Renamed Big Elizabeth?
London's Big Ben Clock Tower is having an identity crisis! On Tuesday it was announced that Britain's Houses of Parliament will be officially renaming the Clock Tower the Elizabeth Tower.
The name change coincides with the mark of the Queen Elizabeth's 60th year on the British throne, reports Reuters.
"The renaming of the Clock Tower to Elizabeth Tower is a fitting recognition of the Queen's 60 years of service," explained Prime Minister David Cameron. "This is an exceptional tribute to an exceptional monarch."
Big Ben attracts tourists from all over, but what many might not know is that the name "Big Ben" only refers to the giant bell in the tower that chimes. The London landmark's name was officially the Clock Tower before it's recent name change.
The Washington Post reports that in order for the name to be changed, it had to have received backing from not only the Prime Minister, but all three of the major parties as well.
While its obvious that those in charge supported the change, the public isn't too happy about embracing the name change. According to the Washington Post, a poll discovered that 44 percent of the public opposed the name change, while 30 percent supported it.
Among those unhappy is "Big Ben" himself. Somebody has made a Twitter account for the London landmark, @BigBenIsAngry. Big Ben Is Angry currently has 220 followers, and is taking the time to tweet some pretty hilarious messages.
"I'm moving onto bigger and better things," @BigBenIsAngry wrote. "Good luck hitting the perfect BONG like me every hour."
"Why hasn't Stonehenge been renamed? I 'rock' way harder."
"Hey Elizabeth Tower, Game on b*tch."
"I've got hands on my clock and I'm not afraid to use them."
"Not sure if any of you saw my promo shots for the Olympics, but I literally worked out around the clock to look that good."
This isn't the first time that the British Parliament has changed the name of a building. The Washington Post reports that in 1860 the west tower of Westminster renamed the Victoria Tower after Britain's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Victoria.