42 Puzzle


 
 

The 42 Puzzle is a game devised by Douglas Adams in 1994 for his popular The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. In the books, 42 is known as The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything that Deep Thought, a sophisticated computer constructed by pandimensional beings, returns (after seven-and-a-half million years of calculating). Referencing this, he created a puzzle whose question was unknown, but whose answer is already known to be 42.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The puzzle is an illustration consisting of 42 multi-coloured balls, in 7 columns and 6 rows. According to Douglas Adams (in an interview reprinted at Douglas Adams Continuum), "Everybody was looking for hidden meanings and puzzles and significances in what I had written (like 'is it significant that 6 * 9 is 42 in base 13?'. As if.) So I thought that just for a change I would actually construct a puzzle and see how many people solved. Of course, nobody paid it any attention. I think that's terribly significant."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The puzzle first appeared in The Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was later incorporated into the covers of all five reprinted "Hitchhiker's" novels.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


 

The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything: The Answer to The Ultimate Question Of Life, the Universe, and Everything is a concept taken from Douglas Adams' science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In the story, the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is sought from the supercomputer Deep Thought. The ans...

Deep Thought: Deep Thought may refer to:...


42 Puzzle related Images and Photos (experimental)

Puzzle Glue
Puzzle Glue
Puzzle Glue
Puzzle Glue
Puzzle Glue
Puzzle Glue
Puzzle Presto
Puzzle Presto
Puzzle Calendar
Puzzle Calendar
T Puzzle Wooden Puzzle
T Puzzle Wooden Puzzle
15 Puzzle Game
15 Puzzle Game
Icosoku Puzzle
Icosoku Puzzle
Izzi Puzzle Game
Izzi Puzzle Game
Tilt Puzzle Game
Tilt Puzzle Game
Hollywood Puzzle
Hollywood Puzzle
Amaze Puzzle Game
Amaze Puzzle Game

~ Table of Content ~

Introduction
Solutions to the Puzzle
 


 

~ Related Subjects ~

Deep Thought (2) - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2) - Douglas Adams (2) - Science fiction (1) - Protagonist (1) - 42 (1) - The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything (1) -
 

~ Community ~

History Forum
Come and discuss about History, Civilizations, Historical Events and Figures
History Web-Ring
A community of sites, blogs and forums dedicated to History. Do not hesitate to submit your site.