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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."
Don't forget to bring a towel! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA6EHCrgZC0
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." --Mark Twain
We don't have to save the world. The world is big enough to look after itself. What we have to be concerned about is whether or not the world we live in will be capable of sustaining us in it.
-- Douglas Adams, Speech at The University of California
don't panic
rewriting history since 2109
If you live in Europe, you can buy THHGTTG with amazing discounts. Not affiliated with bol.com, just a satisfied customer and also surprised that they actually give discounts on this special day.
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...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.
The rest of world don't have May 25th in their calendars, right?
"I have downloaded hundreds and hundreds of records, why would I care if somebody downloads ours?" Robin Pecknold
Indeed he was.
[An extraterrestrial robot and spaceship has just landed on earth. The robot steps out of the spaceship...]
"I come in peace," it said, adding after a long moment of further grinding, "take me to your Lizard."
Ford Prefect, of course, had an explanation for this, as he sat with Arthur and watched the nonstop frenetic news reports on television, none of which had anything to say other than to record that the thing had done this amount of damage which was valued at that amount of billions of pounds and had killed this totally other number of people, and then say it again, because the robot was doing nothing more than standing there, swaying very slightly, and emitting short incomprehensible error messages.
"It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see..."
"You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?"
"No," said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like to straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did," said ford. "It is."
"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"
"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."
"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?"
"What?"
"I said," said Ford, with an increasing air of urgency creeping into his voice, "have you got any gin?"
"I'll look. Tell me about the lizards."
Ford shrugged again.
"Some people say that the lizards are the best thing that ever happened to them," he said. "They're completely wrong of course, completely and utterly wrong, but someone's got to say it."
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 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.
Of course. I mean the Universe is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
I would love to join in on this special day, but I'm busy trying to stop this bleepin freeway bypass from coming through my living room. Oh, Zaphod, where are you?
celebrating the fucking towel?
No. It's celebrating Douglas Adams and his writings.
The towel is an item used to celebrate DA, in much the same way that you don't celebrate a flag but use a flag in celebration of your (sadly fallen) compatriots.
It's all about the symbolic value. Just as a flag is a symbol for national pride (which is a Great Thing when not done in excess), the towel is a symbol for (and manifestation of) Douglas Adams' witty humor.
Also, on slashdot, what percentage is American? What percentage has read Douglas Adams?
But wait... I thought the 42nd day was Towel Day?
So, ten out of ten for on-topic reply, but minus several million for not respecting the dead.
I'm Canadian, and I do have may 25th on my calendar.
And it's Towel Day.
hey, that's the tune to funkytown!
IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
Memorial day isn't set for the 25th, its set for the last Monday in may. The two do not coincide most years.
Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite (TM)
Thanks for reminding us that the USA is the most important country in the world.
That is not a coincidence. It is just it has a very high improbability that it would happen. Apperently you dropped to a chance of 1:1. Now it is 365:1 (and falling).
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Don't know, but that's a cube of only about a quarter of a kilometre per side so I expect it could fit comfortably enough. You might need to knock a few buildings down but since we'll all be cremated I don't suppose anyone will mind.
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.'"
+ bonus points to whoever gets my account name (WSOGMM).
...and thanks for all the fish.
Your sig is remarkably apt, after that quote...
May we live long and die out
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.
They just suffered a permanent existence failure... http://www.towelday.org/
Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
The series was first envisioned as a radio series and that's where it first appeared, two series on Radio 4 UK. Then the books were released. Then some considerable time later a third series and subsequent crap appeared.
Do yourself a favour, listen to the original 2 series from the radio. After that it's all crap. As for the TV and movie, bah !
"Immensely durable science-fiction comedy that taught us all not to panic.
It may have spawned a BBC TV series, five novels and a biggish-budget movie, but purists still point to the original humble radio series as the real deal when it comes to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mysciencefictionlife/A16383233#inDepth
I remember it well from the first time around.