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

Maybe that's why he thought it was a bit tight!

I'm sure he'd prefer something with far longer arms...
(come on, somebody!)

The coat had long arms too. They tie in a bow at the back.

...but which was probably quite incapable of drinking the coffee.

Unlike a certain Kate, we know. Who can drink gallons of the stuff.

Coffee?

Thanks, Jim.
Peta - it's a radio show quote (might be in the books - they're now in a crate, so I can't check).

In the guide entry for the Hagunnenon (the super-evolutionary beings) it talks about how if, over lunch, they can't quite reach the coffee spoon, they're liable to evolve into something with far longer arms - but which is probably quite incapable of drinking the coffee. Trillian then unwittingly echoes the comment referring to what they believe is the Admiral's chair, but which soon proves to be the Admiral.

Maybe you had to be there

I think the hagunemnon only appeared in the radio series. They were replaced by the Disaster Area stunt-ship in the book, record and TV series.

Certainly in terms of that part of the plot (the ship in which they leave Milliways) that was the case. I couldn't remember if the idea of spontaneous evolution had cropped up again - but I suppose this particular joke only worked in the context.

Anyway, I've learned from the Floor42 crew that my knowledge is less than encyclopaedic! My only defence against some of them is that I read it all so much longer ago ....

You could always read them again, you know. Yes, I know, moving and marriage and crates stand in the way at the moment, but there's always later. Yes, I like later.

I'm guessing by your statement that you attempted Kate's impossibly hard trivia quiz, right? I tried to re-take it the other night to improve my score and quit about a third of the way through, thoroughly disheartened.

Yeah, I tried it. And when I figured I'd only get 48 even if every answer I'd produced was correct, I decided not to submit. I listen to the radio series regularly - one disc or another pretty much lives in the car CD player - and I read the first three books a few times because I was at school when they came out. Since then I've been working and told myself I was too busy to read any book more than once - and I guess I lost the obsessiveness teenage boys have for anything which can sublimate all that sexual energy bursting out of them.

I have to admit my Dirk Gently scores were frankly pathetic - maybe I could recall the details under hypnotism, but I never absorbed it the way I did the Guide. Now if there had been questions about Last Chance To See, I'd have stood a chance...

I just bought tapes of the radio series to listen to when I go on holiday - driving down to the Pyrenees. Will have completed refresher course by end of August.

I've just started re-reading Hitch-hikers for the first time in about 12 years. It's just so nice to be back - like listening to a great 80s song that makes you feel young and carefree again!

Has anyone else got one of these little Collectors' Editions which are about 12cm x 22cm, hardback and all with printed autographs in them? They're lovely and pocket-sized. Mine has a real autograph in it too!

whose printed autographs are in it - apart from the obvious? And where /when did you get the real one?

Sorry, I meant that all the books had autographs (of DNA) printed in them.

I got mine at a debate he contributed to a year or two ago in one of London University's lecture halls. Can't remember much about the talk, though I seem to recall it was about extraterrestrial intelligence or evolution of technology or something exotic along those lines. I even had a brief chat with him about our old school and a couple of the masters there. Bloody nice chap.

Peta--I saw a few of them at the Borders on Oxford Street last week, if I know what bee's talking about. I would've bought them, but I was already buying 2 omnibus copies.

Stop looking at me like that. One was a gift.

Someone published the radio series on CD??? Where can I get it? Where??

AAaaiiiiiieeeeee!!!

Now this depends in which country you live in... Amazon.co.uk stock it, although I don't know whether they've got any at the moment but they will ship internationally I think. But you can buy it from the BBC online shop too if you have a UK address.