Someone mentioned one of his books to me – which I haven’t heard about before, and didn’t know much about (even after I was told about it).
Tonight I found some of Douglas Adams’ quotes, and these are SO good…
…He hoped and prayed that there wasn’t an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn’t an afterlife.
…Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them round to dinner.
…I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
…I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
…In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.
…In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.
…It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.
…It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase ‘As pretty as an Airport’ appear.
…Life… is like a grapefruit. It’s orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast.
…The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.
…There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
…Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
…You live and learn. At any rate, you live.
…Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
…The last time anybody made a list of the top hundred character attributes of New Yorkers, common sense snuck in at number 79.
…He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.
…Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.
…Ah, this is obviously some strange usage of the word ’safe’ that I wasn’t previously aware of.
…The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.
…Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
…Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.
…Even he, to whom most things that most people would think were pretty smart were pretty dumb, thought it was pretty smart.
…A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
…I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
…The big corporations are suddenly taking notice of the web, and their reactions have been slow. Even the computer industry failed to see the importance of the Internet, but that’s not saying much. Let’s face it, the computer industry failed to see that the century would end.
…How can I tell that the past isn’t a fiction designed to account for the discrepancy between my immediate physical sensation and my state of mind?
Source: The Quotations Page
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14 comments ↓
Ah yes, and never forget your towel.
You should check out the books, they’re actually not bad at all. Pay no attention to the movie either. I’m referencing Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Ahhh, we lost brilliance when we lost Douglas Adams. I’ve read and re-read and re-read almost every word he’s written, including some of the old Dr. Who radio show scripts.
You pulled out some great quotes of his…thanks for the reminder. My heart is now full of mushy, sad laughter (if there is such a thing). I think it’s time for another HHGTTG reading marathon! Then maybe Dirk Gently…
These are at the top of my list of books I can’t wait to read to Jude when he’s old enough.
** Did you realize that most people’s lives are governed by telephone numbers? **
** Curiously enough , the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was “OH no, not again”. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why hte bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the Universe than we do now **
** .. any people you may meet from time to time are merely products of a deranged imagination.**
yes, the master of cliche’
how we adore the sarcasm and irony..
The secret to flying is that you have to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
I always liked:
“What to do if you find yourself stuck with no hope of rescue: Consider yourself lucky that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn’t been good to you so far, which given your present circumstances seems more likely, consider yourself lucky that it won’t be troubling you much longer.”
“I wonder if it will be my friend…”
thought the whale
He was a genius.
[:-]
What a wonderful mind that man was blessed with. Why did he have to leave us so soon?
He was a great anylizer of the the human race and where we were headed. Such as the the Sirius Robitics company, whose customer relations department took up all of the major land masses of three different planets. Or that any robot that was given the capability to have a personality would be horribly depressed. Or how he tells you that nobody gets seriously injured from the two nukes over Magrathea before he tells you exactly what happens because he doesn’t want anybody to get too worried about it and take a few years off of their lives.
My favorite quote, though, is this: “What Do You Get When You Multiply Nine By Six?” This is, of course, the Question that yeilds the Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything: 42. Yes, 9×6=54. That is what makes it so beautiful. However, and I don’t know if he realized this or not, but 9×6 in base 13, as oppossed to base 10 like we normally use, is actually 42.
RIP
Thanks for this list.. It’s great to see these quotes again. Douglas Adams was great!
This is really extremely bad behaviour.
Douglas Adams’ “quotes” don’t have as much magic as when you’re reading the books.
You HAVE to read the books.
FWIW, here’s some odd Douglas Adams facts.
And grab a copy of Salmon of Doubt. It is proof undeniable that he is irreplaceable.
I LOVE DOUGLAS ADAMS!!! I also love TOWEL DAY!!! 25 of May!! Cant wait, did it last year gonna do it again this year!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Douglas Adams’ sense of humor and observation.
Another excellent Douglas Adams book, which is written in a similar vein, is called Last Chance to See. It details his experiences while traveling throughout the world to seek out endangered animals. It’s entertaining and enlightening. Highly recommended.
Haha, I love good ole douglass adams.
If I were you I’d drop anything else you’re reading and work your way through everything Douglas wrote in order based on publication dates beginning with the Hitchhiker’s book and ending with the Salmon of Doubt anthology.
It’s exceedingly annoying that a percentage of the world only know the man’s work from the film which generally tossed out his best writing and jokes in favour of material that was really quite bland. The ending’s a failure too. At the very least see if you can borrow the radio series from someone.
Other bits of writing can be found here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/U42
Including a guide to making the perfect cup of tea which I follow to this day and really works.
I use The Quotations Page one a post by post basis…
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