Two months ago I finished reading “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” for the first time. I had been meaning to do it for several years, but now that I have, I feel like I’ve been out of the loop. I had no idea there were so many references to things from the book.
Here’s a selection of a few that I picked up on. I’m sure there are more.
The Googleplex
A towel for survival
The answer to life, the universe and everything (42).
So long and thanks for the fish.
Babelfish.
Don’t panic.
What’s unpleasant about being drunk? Ask a glass of water. (from Renee’s post)
After writing this Jason and Renee both referred to the book again, thus confirming my theory that the book is ingrained in our culture.
I love Douglas Adams, too. My favorite phrase from Hitchhiker is “hyperintelligent, pan dimensional beings,” but I don’t think that phrase is such a common one as the ones you listed. Also, 6×9=42.
» Comment by Jan on September 22, 2004 @ 6:10 pmAre you aware that they’re making the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy movie? I’m really looking forward to it.
» Comment by William Bragg on September 22, 2004 @ 6:13 pmDeep Thought (named for the computer in the book) was a chess playing computer built in 1989.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Thought_%28chess_computer%29
I’ve seen numerous geek tests that say if someone says “I have a question”, and you immediately answer “42″, you are a geek.
The Google calculator will give that answer as well.
http://www.google.com/search?q=answer+to+life+the+universe+and+everything
I personally have caught myself saying “It must be Thursday. I can never get the hang of Thursdays” after a bad day. And I wonder every once in a while if I should invent a purpose for my life, like that of Wowbagger, the Infinitely Prolonged.
» Comment by Tim on September 22, 2004 @ 6:45 pmFun! I just finished re-reading the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy a few days ago. I’m half hoping my wife will pick it up and enjoy it as much as I do.
I think one of my favorite ideas in the book is the Improbability Drive.
» Comment by danithew on September 22, 2004 @ 7:31 pmWilliam: Ah, you’re the one. I thought I had read something about the movie but I couldn’t find it. I’m looking forward to it.
Tim: Thanks for the additions. I should have remembered Deep Thought (I did while reading it, just not while writing this blog entry).
danithew: I should see if my wife’s interested in reading it. It was a really entertaining, fast-paced book. In fact, I’m thinking about reading it again.
» Comment by dan on September 22, 2004 @ 8:05 pmYou can rent the old BBC tv series on dvd for this also.
» Comment by Cameron on September 22, 2004 @ 11:17 pmOn my cubicle whiteboard I have “Answer: 42“. Oh and Dan, remember Ryan J.’s old box was called “Deepthought”.
» Comment by jason on September 23, 2004 @ 8:59 amAh, but do you know what I mean if I tell you I have no tea?
» Comment by Meredith on September 27, 2004 @ 5:09 pmHmm…you’ve got me. I can’t think of what it means. I’m going to have to read the book again.
» Comment by dan on September 27, 2004 @ 9:29 pmHey - what about
» Comment by Marvin on October 13, 2004 @ 7:21 pm‘Brain the size of a planet….’
or
‘Life? Don’t talk to me about Life’ etc
‘Resistance is useless’
hey, yeah i’m only 18, but….i love HG2G i couldn’t put the book down and i’ve read all of the other books as well. it’s rare to find a book like that, with such nonsensical humor that kind of make syou think about your life….yeah anyway, i’m glad there are HG2G junkies out there other than myself. And i never knew that the website http://babelfish.altavista.com/ was an HG2G thing.
» Comment by Seklyan on April 22, 2005 @ 10:14 am