Happy Towel Day

"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value -- you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes; you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.


"More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with."


-- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

MS. B: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science-fiction/satire novel -- although that definition hardly does the book justice. But then, the thing about Hitchhiker's is that it's nearly impossible to explain -- it's one of those things you just gotta see for yourself.

Created by English author Douglas Adams, the sci-fi phenomenon (and believe me, it's a phenomenon) started life as a 1978 radio series. First broadcast by the BBC, the story kicks off with mild-mannered Arthur Dent, an average human guy who is having something of an off day. He wakes up to find his house about to be knocked down (it's in the way of the new superhighway). An hour later, he uncovers a more pressing problem: the Earth itself is about to be destroyed. Just before the planet's blown up (by a group of aliens making way for a new intergalactic expressway; irony intended), Arthur is saved by his best friend, Ford Prefect, who just happens to be an alien himself.

Turns out that Ford's been on Earth doing research for a travel guide called "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (hence the radio show's title). What follows is an inexplicable sci-fi adventure involving a two-headed alien whose President of the Galaxy, a depressed robot, a spaceship whose engine runs on improbability, and a supercomputer that comes up with the answer for life and the universe (although, trust me, it's not the answer you think).

The radio program did well enough that, the following year, Adams wrote a novel adaptation of the show. And, like the radio series, the book is not so much a story with a gripping plotline, but rather a story of ideas. Not to mention being very, very funny.

The original book cover

TRACY: My friend Cathy first introduced me to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in 9th or 10th grade. As you know from earlier posts, I was already a fan of sci-fi films and television, but I hadn’t really been exposed to a lot of sci-fi books at this age. I was definitely ready for this book! By this point in my life, I was also discovering that I liked and appreciated the British sense of humor.

Arthur Dent was a character that I could identify so much with, even at such a young age. Arthur is a man who seems like he is comfortable with his life, but is actually quite bored with it. He has no idea what lies in store for him on that fateful day when the bulldozers show up at his house! Not that I wanted to find out that my home (my house or my planet) was going to be destroyed, but a part of me had always longed to have a friend like Ford Prefect that would drag me along on some great adventure.

The teaser for the 2005 film adaptation

MS. B: The first book adaptation of the radio series would become a series itself, with Adams eventually writing five Hitchhiker's novels -- which fans and publishers alike often refer to the Hitchhiker's Trilogy. (Yes, a trilogy in five parts; it's that kind of series, what can I say.) A television miniseries and computer game would follow in the 80s, and other adaptations have included record albums, stage shows, and even a towel. (Of course, a towel; see the top quote above for more.) And then, in 2005, a film adaptation finally made its debut. Sadly, it was a movie premiere that Douglas Adams did not get to see -- he'd passed away, quite unexpectedly, in 2001 at the age of 49.

TRACY: By the time I read the book the first time, it had already been in print for a few years. Likewise, the BBC television series had already been shown in England, but was just being shown on our local PBS station. It was a cheesy production, but so much fun. I now know that Douglas Adams was not that happy with the television series. But I loved it! Unfortunately, I don’t feel the same way about the film version from 2005. For me, it just didn’t capture everything that I loved about the book. A lot of the performances were just flat and lacked the fun and silliness of the book, let alone the BBC version.

I'm not explaining this; you're just going to have to read the book

MS. B: The movie was, indeed, not particularly well-received by fans or critics alike. This is a particular shame given that Adams had been trying for decades to get the film to the big screen, and the film was definitely produced with a lot of love and respect for Adams in mind. 

But the simple truth of the matter, at least in my opinion, is that an idea-filled, plot-light story like Hitchhiker's is simply not meant to be a movie. In a series -- be it book, radio, or television -- you've got the time to stretch out and explore Adams's inimitable style and completely unique way of looking at the world (not to mention the galaxy). Compress it into a movie, and much of the magic is lost.

Still, I myself appreciated the film for its great casting (Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell!), stunningly gorgeous special effects, and some genuine moments of great humor. And the affection for the source material on the part of the filmmakers is undeniable.

Don't forget to bring your towel

MS. B: Hitchhiker's fans the world over have celebrated Towel Day on May 25th for over a decade. The original Towel Day was held in 2001, two weeks after the death of Douglas Adams. Dreamed up by fans and promoted online, Towel Day was a chance for Hitchhiker's aficionados to spend the day carrying around a towel in order to pay tribute to Douglas Adams. It's been celebrated by fans every May 25th ever since.

For my part, I didn't bring a towel into work today (though I'm happy to report I took one with me to the movie theater when the 2005 film premiered!). I've certainly got The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on my mind today, though; and if you're interested in a truly unusual book, give this one a try. I promise you'll never look at The Meaning Of Life -- or dolphins, for that matter -- in quite the same way again.