May 29th, 2009 at 5:36 pm

So Long, And Thanks for All The Fish

ode 20to 20news 20pic So Long, And Thanks for All The Fish

I was having a conversation the other day about how pervasive Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy has been in culture. Foremost, I think, is that most people know the answer to the question “What is the meaning of life?” is “42.”

The other is the immortal message uttered by the dolphins as they leave Earth in the first book in the series, right before the planet is destroyed:

“So long, and thanks for all the fish.”

…Which has become a De Facto (though nerdy) way to say goodbye.

Anyway, if you’ve never read the novels, you should. They’re as hilarious, poignant, and pointed as they were back when Adams wrote them. You can actually grab the first four books (aka, the important ones) in one super cheap volume. May I suggest Summer beach reading?

6a00b8ea0686dddece00b8ea073cb51bc0 500pi So Long, And Thanks for All The Fish