Original artwork, not a still
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy • 1979
The Guide on towels, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The joke is the exaggeration: an item of bathroom linen as the single most useful object in the galaxy. Fans took it seriously enough to carry towels in public. Towel Day has been held every 25 May since 2001, two weeks after Adams died, and for the book's readers the towel is a badge of belonging.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyShow the scene
The opening of the Guide's entry on towels in Chapter 3 of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, just before the Vogon fleet arrives. The Guide goes on to list uses for a towel: wrapping it round you for warmth on the cold moons of Jaglan Beta, lying on it on the beaches of Santraginus V, sleeping under it beneath the red stars of Kakrafoon, sailing a mini raft with it. A hitchhiker who still knows where his towel is, it says, earns a stranger's respect. The wording first appeared in the 1978 radio series, and the novel reused it.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyChapter 3Reference checked
- Wikipedia: Towel DayOriginReference checked
Context reviewed
