It finally happened. An Internet meme has seeped into the real world.
The Tennessee Aquarium has named one of its new otters after Benedict Cumberbatch. The Chattanooga-based aquarium asked its Facebook fans to help name six new otters who would be living in the too-precious-it-hurts habitat of River Otter Falls. Doesn't it just sound like a town in a teen drama? Yes. Yes, it does.
Fans voted to have this little guy named "Benedict" after the British actor best known for playing "Sherlock" in the titular series. According to the caption of the photo posted on the Tennessee Aquarium's Facebook page, Benedict has the darkest coat of the group, a shade that is not too dissimilar from Cumberbatch's own sable locks. "This otter scampers, wrestles and swims but does not climb. Always first in line at feeding time, he often vocalizes around food," the description said.
So why is this such a big deal, you ask? As you probably recall, "Otters Who Look Like Benedict Cumberbatch" was an Internet meme that popped up a couple years ago. Tumblr user Red Scharlach was the first to point out the actor's resemblance to the aquatic mammal. No matter the expression Cumberbatch has on his face, there is always a photo of an otter out there to match it, and thank goodness for that.
"Guests may want to take pictures of Benny to see if his handsome face matches the actor's facial features," a spokesperson for the aquarium told RadioTimes.
And if you're wondering if Cumberbatch knows he looks like an otter, he does. Not only did Cumberbatch laugh at side-by-side photos of him and otters when he appeared on "The Graham Norton Show" in October 2013, but he also spoke about his resemblance to the animal to "The Hollywood Reporter."
"It's the blessing of having a weird face—somewhere between an otter and something people find vaguely attractive," Cumberbatch told "The Hollywood Reporter"'s Scott Feinberg in an interview.
Now all that we need to happen is for Cumberbatch to visit little "Benny" at the aquarium. Hopefully, the space-time continuum can handle two Benedicts in the same place at the same time. Or perhaps otters could be central to an upcoming "Sherlock" plot? Let's make this happen, Internet.
