https://www.npr.org/2021/10/17/1046593657/its-been-42-years-since-the-hitchhikers-guide-answered-the-ultimate-question

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42 years later, how 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' has
endured The first Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book was published
in October 1979. Fans are looking back at how the series has endured
in popularity and why it's still relevant.

Books

It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the
ultimate question

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October 17, 20217:09 AM ET
Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday

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Hafsa Fathima

Hadeel al-Shalchi

Hadeel Al-Shalchi

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It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the
ultimate question

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[gettyimage]
Enlarge this image

British author Douglas Adams, left, and Nick Landau read Adams' book
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy in October 1979. Colin Davey/
Evening Standard/Getty Images hide caption

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Colin Davey/Evening Standard/Getty Images

British author Douglas Adams, left, and Nick Landau read Adams' book
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy in October 1979.

Colin Davey/Evening Standard/Getty Images

It's the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and
everything: 42.

And 42 is now the number of years since the publication of The
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, the first in the series of wacky
and beloved sci-fi books by Douglas Adams.

The book follows Englishman Arthur Dent as he wakes up to find that
Earth is about to be demolished to make way for a space highway.
Adventure ensues across the galaxy with aliens, super computers and
Marvin, a perpetually sad robot.

The iconic sci-fi franchise has taken on many forms, including a TV
show, a movie, live theater productions, a computer game and comic
books. It started as a BBC radio series in 1978.

But it's most well-known as a book, first published in October 1979.
And after 42 years, fans still find joy in the humorous characters,
absurd plots and subtle lessons that have kept the cultural legacy
strong.

Arts & Life

'Hitchhiker,' a Guide to Douglas Adams

Shamini Bundell, a science video journalist at Nature.org, says her
obsession with The Hitchhiker's Guide began early.

"I'm a massive sci-fi fan, and a bit of a geek," Bundell tells
Weekend Edition. "I remember in particular at one point getting the
entire original radio series, and would listen to it before bed each
night on my little CD player next to a bed."

Bundell said the story is a satire on what happens around the world
and what we're doing to our planet and is still relevant today.

In the story, Vogons are an alien race destroying planets to make way
for construction of a new hyperspace bypass.

"There's a lot of jokes in the Hitchhiker's book about sort of
bureaucracy, the Vogons being sort of the epitome of they won't do
anything without forms signed in triplicate," she says.

It reminds Bundell of how world leaders handle major issues, such as
climate change, where they gather and say "we should definitely do
something about climate change. But in practice, the years go by ...
and we don't."

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While the series can parody life on a larger scale, it's also moved
fans on a personal level.

For Amit Oz, a chef in Hong Kong, the book helped him when he moved
from Israel to China when he was young.

"The fact that life is just an adventure and the goal is to have fun.
You're there to make the most of what's around you and be a good
person while you do it," Oz says. "And I think that's grounding when
your world is becoming an adventure."

The chef's favorite part of the Hitchhiker's series is Milliways, the
restaurant at the end of the universe where visitors can witness the
reverse Big Bang as they enjoy a meal. The familiarity of food and
dining in the books resonates with him.

"It's funny because aliens from everywhere are coming in to do
something that is very human, which is sit around and eat," he says.

"If you are hitchhiking around the universe and you can sit down in a
spaceship or on another planet and have some noodles with a friend, a
new friend or an old friend, it suddenly doesn't feel that distant or
that far away or scary anymore."

The influence of the Hitchhiker's Guide "is everywhere," says Marcus
O'Dair, author of The Rough Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy.

"We can see it in culture, where Adams' story is rumoured to have
inspired everything from the band Level 42 to comedy show The Kumars
at No. 42," he says. "We can see it in tech: in the real-life 'knife
that toasts,' for instance, or in-ear translation services
reminiscent of the Babel fish. The most visible sign of its ubiquity,
though, might be the fact that we can celebrate its anniversary not
at 40 or 50 years but at 42 -- and everyone knows why."

So no matter how you choose to celebrate, remember to bring your
towel.

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