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Don't Panic, It's Towel Day!
An anonymous reader writes "Today, as every May 25th, geeks all over the world celebrate Towel Day and carry a towel in honor of Douglas Adams. The popular author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy died in 2001 at the age of 49, but his work lives on. According to the book, a towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Hence its symbolic role in this celebration. This year, for the first time as far as we know, Towel Day is being supported by the British publisher of Adams' books, who organizes a photo competition."
...now more than ever: Keep your towel close and hope that you can hitch a ride.
since 1776 and there is a post on Memorial Day about a fucking holiday celebrating the fucking towel?
While vulgar, Parent is not a Troll. It is a comment (likely, but not necessarily, from a veteran) about this being an actual national holiday to honor our fallen military.
I like blue towels, white towels aren't bad but blue towels are sweet.
And though it's Memorial Day in one part of the world, this site is a part of the WORLD WIDE web.
I don't think that your post is a Troll, but please recognize that there is more than one thing going on around the universe today.
It's a simple matter of complex programming.
Who cares about Americans ? Douglas Adams was English. Obviously you got lost on a UK-centric thread...
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
I'm Canadian, and I do have may 25th on my calendar.
And it's Towel Day.
Thanks for reminding us that the USA is the most important country in the world.
As others have pointed out, it's neither a national holiday, nor our fallen military - so yes, in my non-USA eyes, he is a troll, regardless of his good intentions.
Towel Day and THHGTTG are by no means a topic that's specific to a single country, so one should keep ones reactions and comments in an international (and, well, intergalactic) spirit.
Why should we respect the dead? They're dead, they don't care if we respect them or not.
Mada mada dane.
Assuming a person needs on average 2 square feet of ground space to stand in, 6.8 billion people would require 1263 square kilometers.
So Greenwich is too small, but Greater London at 1579 sqkm would be just about right.
This analysis purposefully ignores stacking possibilities, because those are just too damn awkward.
Erm, why is this an issue? There are 365 days in the year to celebrate some 200,000 years of Homo sapiens wandering around doing notable things like inventing crop rotation, stopping throwing rocks and the moon and trying to figure out how to throw themselves at the moon and inventing Hypercolors t-shirts. Even if there's just one notable event or person a year, that's around 548 things to celebrate, honor or remember each day (there were decimals, but screw them because if they can't be bothered, neither can I).
So, yeah, some days are going to be shared. Doesn't mean they have to be mutually exclusive. For example, May 25th is also:
Cookie Monster's Birthday - I tried carrying around a cookie, but I ate it. It was delicious and I poured out some crumbs for my muppet hommies who ain't here.
National Missing Children's Day - read a milk carton, maybe save a life.
National Tap Dance Day - Part of me hopes there's a afterlife just so there can be a Gregory Hines/Douglas Adams smackdown for this day.
Cover The Uninsured Day - Pretty relevant, really.
And, the one you might be most interested in, National Smile Day.
Besides, Memorial Day falls on the last Monday in May (or May 30th, depending on how you feel about 1971 and the federal government), so it's really just a guest on this particular May 25th and maybe it should behave itself better?
I hear you can use it for a pillow or a blanket when you're sleeping on a couch...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
since 1776 and there is a post on Memorial Day about a fucking holiday celebrating the fucking towel?
Yes. And if your 'Memorial Day' is really so massively important to you, you woldn't be a) reading Slashdot, b) reading the article about Towel Day and c) taking the time to write your post.
Don't be shocked that a world-wide community (remember only 5% or so of people are American) which focuses on geek/tech culture doesn't follow what you think is important.
If there's something you think would interest the world's geeks about your Memorial Day, please submit away!
Have you submitted the article outlining the importance/significance of the day?
And though it's Memorial Day in one part of the world, this site is a part of the WORLD WIDE web.
I don't think that your post is a Troll, but please recognize that there is more than one thing going on around the universe today.
I honestly am embarrassed by my countrymen and women who ignorantly assume since today is a holiday in the United States, that the entire world stops. It simply shows how internationally stupid most Americans are. We barely learned American history in our public schools much less global history. Yay, federally funded public schools.
</rant>
Sigh... it's an American holiday. Welcome to globalization.
It's not on mine. 25th of May is though.
A small but important difference...