"Forty Two, Forty Two, Forty Two, Forty Two"

I found the books in the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series hilarious. If you've read them you'll know that the super computer Deep Thought was asked the question: What is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe and Everything. After 7 1/2 million years Deep Thought produced the answer that mankind had been seeking so hungrily.

And the answer is Forty Two. Apparently  HitchHiker's author Douglas Adams had a lengthy discussion with some friends before coming up with the magical number which they decided was the funniest number in existence.

And I find both the number (in it's context) and the idea of the discussion that led to it very funny. Well it cracks me up, and though I'm not going to hold it against you if you're thinking "WTF is funny about THAT"  it is quite likely that some of my own weird attempts at humour might pass you by. I'm just saying.

The thing is, I'm the kind of guy who likes to roam around, and also the kind who is searching for the Meaning Of Life. But I have that famous British Self Deprecation Gene, and I realise that looking for the big answers can cause a person to become pretentious, anal, and self absorbed.

And those kind of characteristics need to be burst like a puss filled blister.

Which is why the number Forty Two is so funny. And it's lesson so important. It reminds us how, in the grand scheme of things, we are relatively speaking, tiny, silly, insignificant,  and quite weird creatures who don't really have very many answers. And all the best answers we do have always produce more questions.

 I think our ability to laugh...at our environment, our circumstances, our fears, our friends, and ourselves...is one of our most redeeming features.

Now I'm off for a bit of Deep Thoughting of my own. That or watch a bit of Saturday sport on the telly. Actually, probably the sport one.


The line "Forty two, forty two, forty two, forty two" is from my song Forty Two on the hard to find Lounging On Longrow album from the now non-existent Kintyre Music Cooperative. It will be re-recorded at some point.

Most of my songs can be found at Fee Comes Fourth