h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was thinking about our future here - and how we can ensure that we keep our identity intact in any possible future noohootoo.

There are lots of unwritten traditions that make up the culture and ethos of any community or organisation. They are a sort of glue that hold us together against the outside.

A lot of effort has been put into identifying areas where we need to improve - adapt - evolve whatever. This is a question in the opposite direction.


I wanted to find out what strange little quirks that we would like to keep. These are the things that may have had a reason wa-ay back in the mists of time, but that newbies* like myself have no idea why.

For example the word w*rk is always written with a star - you may know why. I think I asked ages back why, and was told it just is.... (Someone has told me the real reason too)

Another example is that Thursday is known as something and I have no idea about the history behind that either.

I'm sure there are other instances out there. I'd love to collect a few examples and the history behind them.


*relative newbie that is - I only found out about this site in 2009

Lanzababy

The Thing/Thursday debate stems from a Douglas Adams quote. I'll dig it out for you...

There's the whole Nighthoover business, of course. The post that started *that* whole ball rolling has since been immortalised by Tav in T-shirt format.

And the badgers. I'm not too sure how they started, but it had something to do with 2legs - I think you'll find he's at the root of a lot of these things.

Which leads me to blaming 2legs. That spilled out of its own dedicated thread and now happens everywhere, whether someone gets a skelf in the finger or their house burns down.

I deny... oh waht's the point...

The badger thing, of course, origionated from the badgerbadgerbadger song/video/animation thinggy... it sort of got... Idunno... it just kinda was... then we all went to Bognor regis, for a weekend long pish-up... Imean HooToo meet... and we badgerised everything in site... bohemian badgery... badger inferno regis err... alcohol was inovoled with a lot of this... I think... yes... and an axe murderer... and nighthoover, but mainly badgers... we were reqally quite drunk... ... its hard to remember...

I thought it was w**k, with two stars. As in, I often get my fingers damp when w**king ... because I'm a kitchen assistant.

The Halloween disguises ought to get a mention, although my name's never been very good for anagrams.

Mol

I'm wondering if the hamsters will be moving with us?

And the Hootoo sewers..

You dunno about the sewers..They are part of hootoos waterworks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A358814

the thing "thing"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A516647

This thread reminded me of another custom: to celebrate your hootoo anniversary. I was eight exactly a week ago.

mine(this incarnation) is end of next month

Who were you before that?

and that leads us to the topic drift, topic change, or thread high-jacking .. which is also common practice

and now that we're talking about that .. what do you pay for potatoes? I'd have expected them to be cheaper by now.

hey! I knew there was stuff here that is incredible. Did the whole badger thing start here? Because it's spread ( my kids talk about badgers... but they have never been here)

I was a bit worried when I started this thread that there would be nothing in response

of course I would have blamed 2legs if that had happened.


Hooray for hootoo,


Lanzababy

grabs hapi and pins him down in case the topic drift is too fierce.

uuurrgghhhhh

quickly revives hapi with a

phew that was close

.. hippos are so sensitive ..

Oh dear, I think I actually have some responsibility for two of those traditions.

I was a founder Thingite, along with our glorious leader and warlord Clive and Acidbath. Those who like Hootoo trivia might be intrested to know that the Campaign actually began on the Yahoo group set up by the Powers during Rupert... and that's two more bits of hootology for someone to explain!

As for w**king, that was me too, I think (at least I definitely came up with it myself although I can't deny the possibility that somone else here had a similarly pathetic sense of humour). I tend to think of 'work' as a swearword anyway and I'm never one to leave an entendre unturned. Now, I only ever inhabited small, dark, dusty corners of h2g2 but I did hang out with some more prolific posters such as Gosho, GreyDesk, LHG and Shea (not to mention the Thingites) so perhaps one or more of them popularised my little joke. I suspect it started becoming 'w*rk' thanks to ill-informed and over-enthusiastic modding.

Adding a tagline after user name. Has that always been a hootoo tradition/ habit from way back? Asking as a relative newbie of 5.5 years