Towel Day

 

            “The stuff that legends are made of”, is how the writings of Douglas Adams are perceived.  What comes to the minds of many readers when you mention Douglas Adams? Well for one he was a Brilliant English writer who wrote “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” a five book trilogy.

Towel Day is an International Holiday, that celebrates the life of Douglas Adams who pasted the Restaurant at the End of the Universe on May 11, 2001, and since then fans from all over the world celebrate his life on May 25^th.

Hosting unique parties where people cosplay their favourite characters from the books, such as Arthur Dent a human that escaped the destruction of earth only wearing pjs, a robe and having a towel given to him by Ford Prefect an alien journalist.

“Always remember where your towel is” is the wise words of an intergalactic hitchhiker. With that ado, people celebrate by carrying a towel with them every where on the 25^th of May. Some of these Towels have different saying from the books such as “42”, “Don’t Panic”, “So Long and Thanks for all the fish”, and “Mostly Harmless”.

New York and Los Angels have huge parties, here to honour the books, and in European cities London< Paris and Cardiff have parties that last the whole weekend or week depending on when the 25^th falls.

Home brew parties as mention, when people come dressed up, caring a towel and drinking “Pangalacticgargle Blasters” a unique drink “invented by ex-President of the Universe Zaphod Beeblebrox, largely considered to be the best in the Universe. Its effects are similar to having your brains smashed in by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.” (Sorry no recipe printed here.)

I asked people around campus and else where how they celebrate towel day, and I got a couple of different versions of how they do it.

I met up with a friend Dennis Searing on campus before he went to his class and asked him a couple of questions on his out look of what Towel Day means to him. At first he had to think because he has only been to one Towel Day party.

“I found it exciting and cool, in the way that I am not the only person who would enjoy doing this kind of thing. I dressed up as Marvin; he is one of my favourite characters in the book and from the movie. I went around acting as if I was manic depressive. Like the character, my female friend dressed as trillion and we both had fun at the party, it lasted until one in the morning. But we all crashed the house because we were all drinking the pan galactic gargle blasters and it had a lot of alcohol in it.”

Then it went from at to asking him about his favourite book out of the trilogy. Dennis didn’t really have one favourite; he liked the three that he has read, not really having any time to read,

“Because of my busy days. Even though my son has started reading “Mostly Harmless” and he is enjoying. The first time he ever heard of the books is when he sat down with me and watched the movie.”

Dennis mentioned that there is an organization “towelday.org/” that helps spread the word about Towel Day.

The second person I had found and interviewed about Towel Day was Rob Ormbrek.

When someone mentions what comes to mind for you?

“Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, of course, 42, don’t panic, pan galactic gargle blasters, and of course your towel.”

Can you explain the towel?

“Well I have only read the first book, and the new movie, the only purpose of the towel that I could see was put it behind your head when you go into hyper drive”.

How do you celebrate Towel Day?

“By queuing up the Hitchhikers Guide movie and making pan galactic gargle blasters”

When was the first time that you read the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and what did you think of it when you read it?

“Well I read it for time a couple of years back, when I was a customer service rep; I was reading it between calls to escape from the monotony of the quiet times, and I loved it, the movie followed it like a road map, they only changed a couple of things in the movie.”

“The book was hilarious, it is one of those books that are so great, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

What do you think that makes the five book trilogy such a popular series of books?

I think it is a lot of the concepts, it makes us question what is out there, and the fact that they made mice the most intelligent being in the universe, and humans think we are the smartest. Then we suddenly find out that we are number three on the totem pole, behind dolphins and then mice being at the top of the chain.”