42

42 is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

In fact, 42 is the answer to the question "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?" as revealed in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. This is flawed, however, because Arthur Dent, the man who reveals this question through an irregular set of Scrabble tiles (his feat is impossible with a standard set of Scrabble tiles, as the question he pulled out has 4 Ys), is not actually part of the natural matrix of the computer that is the Earth; rather, he is a descendant of the Golgafrinchans (as is every other human). It is worth noting that 6 times 9 does indeed equal 42, in base 13. However, this was not intended by Douglas Adams, who responded to an inquiry regarding the subject with the line "I may be a pretty sad case, but I don't write jokes in base 13."

42 Factoids

• Try Googling "answer to life, the universe, and everything"
• Saying that something does not equal 42 is one of the gravest of insults.
• 42 must never be divided by 0. (Just shows that the meaning of life is undefined.)
• 42 is the number of roads one must take in his/her life time.
• When light hits water at a 42 degree angle, a rainbow is created
• 42 is the number of gallons of oil in each barrel.
• 42 is of great traditional importance to CTY; it is involved in things such as 42-second hugs, 42-person orgies, 42-player Blammo games, 42 recursions, buying 42 bottles of Strawberry Kiwi Lemonade, etc.
• 42 is equal to 1337% of π
• Fastest way through the center of the Earth is 42 minutes. Hollow tube of free-fall acceleration coupled by an equal length of deceleration.
• In NYC, the Grand Central Terminal, Times Square, New York Public Library and Chrysler Building are on 42nd street

See also: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy