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

when I went to school 6x 7 was 42 and 6*9 was 54. have they changed that? Oh by the way i recently read F615?thread=126132 (from last october) and am still following it's advice.

Have you listened to "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" radio play, or seen the TV series? At the end of the TV series, and in the sixth episode of the radio play (the end of the first series), Arthur discovers that the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything _might_ be "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?", having already found out that, after seven and a half million years of thought, a gigantic super-computer had determined the answer to the question was 42. Hence 6*9=42.

Of course, we know it's wrong, because the Earth was demolished five minutes before its program (to find the ultimate question, presumably extrapolating backwards from the answer) was finished, so it's possible that the question they found wasn't the right one, as it could have changed it again in five minutes...

"Ten million years of planning and work ruined! The mice were furious!" (Slartibartfast, "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" by Douglas Adams)

Oh, what advice? I didn't see any checking that thread again... maybe I'm hallucinating again.

And the possessive form of 'it' doesn't have an apostrophe in it. It might look like it's short for something, but it isn't. Think of it as a seperate word like 'his' or 'hers' - nobody writes "her's" now, do they, yet they make the same mistake with "its"... I wonder why that is? Probably because of the contraction "it's" for "it is".

First off let me respond by saying I'm from one of those back corners of this planet where neither the radio or tv versions of hitchhikers guide ever were played. So what I know is from the original book form by Douglas Adams.
In the original book A computer named Deep thought gives the answer
And says a greater computer will tell the question.
the mice supervise the project and in chapter thirty two of the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy they say the following:
"How about what's yellow and dangerous? Nop, no good doesn't fit the answer...All right said Benjy What do you get if you multiply six by seven?
No, no, too literal, too factual said frankie."(copied from page 195)
I understand in a later volume perhaps in a alternate universe the
answer was explained as 6 times nine.
This must have been a universe where there would be nine burgers in this post. As to the advice I quote verbatum:
"Posterd October 5,2001 by MaW;;[guru] post 13
Patience,patience, Wait for the next batch..."

I would further note that on page 155 of Salmon of Doubt
Adams is quoted saying "I think the idea of art kills creativity."
maybe that's why we don't have a towel smiley. People are spending two much time trying to make it art.

and yes I know that its not two

It possesses not two so I left out the apostrophe.

In the radio play and TV series (and the books, I thought), Deep Thought designs the Earth to find the question. In the radio play and TV series, by five minutes before readout time, it had got to "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?"

The mice were just trying to save their careers on the 5D TV chat show and lecture circuit.

I was hoping there would be a clarification in Salmon of a doubt but I never found one. Oh well, Not important anyway, it's just the answer to life, the universe and everything unsubsribes.

It is in the books.

And 6*9 in base 13 is 42.

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