Towel Day

A tribute to Douglas Adams

1952 - 2001

Pictures!

What do I do?

When do I do it?

Where do I do it?

Why a towel?

A towel 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, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine soredly 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 or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a brush, but very ravenous); 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-hitch hiker) 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. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have "lost". 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.

Let us know!

Also, if you want to help get the word out about Towel Day, please use this banner, and link to this site (http://www.towelday.org/):

Frequently Asked Questions!

The 25th of May has no DA significance. Why did you pick that day to celebrate?

Towel Day was intended to be a wake. A way of showing respect for the passing of this most hoopy frood. It was first slated for one week after his death, but that didn't give us nearly enough time to get the word out. So we moved it to two weeks after his death.

This question also appears in the form, "But, why not 42 days after his death?" Again, it's all about timing, 42 days is a long time in the history of the Universe, so we were concerned that the enthusiasm would vaporize like a planet in the path of a Vogon Constructor Fleet.

Some people still won't just give up, and ask "But, why not on Thursday, since that's when the trilogy begins? Well, we didn't think about that until the idea had already exploded across the Internet. I could never get the hang of Thursdays, anyway.

If you have any other questions about why Towel Day is on May 25, instead of (insert date here), feel free to consult your Guide.

Should I really carry a towel all day? It might be embarrassing!

Yes, you should really carry a towel with you all day. You might get teased or looked at weird, but then you can just hide behind your towel until the offensive people go away. (These people are mind-bogglingly stupid and think that if you can't see them, they can't see you-daft as a bush, but dangerous otherwise.) Seriously, if you're still in school, explain to your teachers what you're doing. They'll probably appreciate the gesture to a great literary mind. In fact, tell them ahead of time. They just might surprise you by bringing a towel too.

Perhaps some places of employment won't be as understanding, but give it a shot. If someone asks what you're doing with a towel, tell them to go buy the book!

Can we do this again next year?

Shouldn't we make this a fund raiser for Douglas Adams' favorite charities?

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