Name That Oil-Plug Technique: The Winners

The “top kill” failed, and the “cut and cap” has already hit a snag. Last week we asked you to name and describe a method for BP to try next. Looks like they could use the advice. Frank Overton drew from Willy Wonka’s factory, suggesting “blob-stopper,” “good-gobbler” and “well whomper.” (He’s in good company: Jon Stewart invoked Wonka imagery the other night, with a clip of the “morbidly obese child” getting stuck in a chocolate tube, or what Stewart refers to as the “gloop shot” technique.)

Another source of inspiration: Jean-Claude Van Damme, whose movie titles are basically indistinguishable from the BP strategy names—or, for that matter, from Seagal movie titles—as this quiz points out. (Hat tip to Dave Levitan.) And Oton Barros envisions using the red tape “already made during this mess” to plug the hole.

The winner of the Name That Oil-Plug Technique contest: Jeff Aeschliman, from Salem, Oregon, who calls his maneuver “The Dutch Boy”: “You send a BP exec down there and tell him to stick his finger in the hole.”

Thanks for playing, and keep sharing your ideas in the comments section below.