I’m not sure of the exact quote and I can’t look it up because someone has my copy of the more than complete guide, but the quote has something to do with the tendency of humans to overstate the obvious. It has something to do with the fact that if our lips stop moving our brains start working. It’s from the Hitchiker’s Guide, around when Arthur and Ford first find themselves on the Vogon ship. If someone could post it for me that’d be nice.
I think digital watches ARE pretty neat.
The one Qudgop posted above is easily my favorite by a long marign.
But there’re so many runners-up. To name just one:
the “slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick” and the “sells rather better” parts crack me up every time.
Fenris
Fenris
The Nutramatic beverage machine - it produces something which is almost , but not quite , entirely unlike tea.
The Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster - like having your brain bashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a gold brick.
For hypergirl:
In chapter 5 of THGTTG, after Arthur has been going on about it being dark:
“One of the things Ford Prefect found hardest to understand about humans was their habit of continually stating and repeating the very very obvious, as in It’s a nice day, or You’re very tall, or Oh dear you seem to have fallen down a thirty-foot well, are you all right?”
Ford’s two theories on the reason:
1)If human beings don’t keep exercising their lips their mouths probably seize up.
2)If they don’t keep on exercising their lips, their brains start working.
“I got an award for designing Norway you know”
" I don’t want to go to heaven with a headache , I’ll be cross and won’t enjoy it "
" Every time you go to the lavatory you have to get a receipt ".
Some of these quotes come from the original off-air radio recordings and may not appear in the books.“You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.”
“If you wanted an omelet, I’d expect to find a pile of broken crockery, a cooker in flames, and an unconscious chef.”
That episode also gave us the quotes:
“Do you know what I don’t understand?”
“I expect so.”
“Dougan, why is it every time I start talking to someone, you knock them unconscious.”
“I don’t think he is as stupid as he seems.”
“My dear, no one could be as stupid as he seems.”
" The ravenous Bugbladder beast of Thrall , a creature so stupid it thinks that if it can,t see you , you can’t see it "
“The first 6 million years were worst the next million years were worst also,after that things started to go downhill”
Superintelligent shades of blue-
42-
Arthurs story told to Fenchurch on crackers, one of the many times I laughed outloud reading the Hitchikers series(just finished So Long & Thanks for All the Fish 3 days ago…)
Quote"And as he drove on, the rain clouds dragged down the sky after him for, though he did not know it, Rob McKenna was a Rain God. All he knew was that his working days were miserable and he had a succession of lousy holidays. All the clouds knew was that they loved him and wanted to be near him, to cherish him and to water him."
AH! so sad. Thanks & so long, Douglas Adams.
I met my fiance because of Douglas Adams; I posted a personal ad with the title “Female: Mostly Harmless”, he was a huge Douggie Adams fan and responded, we found out we were basically soulmates, and the rest is history.
Since I can’t narrow it down to one favourite, either, I decided to go with the exchange from the beginning of THHGTTG that hooked me on Douggie in high school;
‘But the plans were on display…’
‘On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.’
‘That’s the display department.’
‘With a torch.’
‘Ah, well the lights had probably gone.’
‘So had the stairs.’
‘But look, you found the notice didn’t you?’
‘Yes,’ said Arthur, ‘yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying Beware of the Leopard.’
I’ve memorized the whole entry on the Universe. But I will only repeat:
When Arthur and the gang are on the ship they’ve “stolen” from Hot Black Desiato:
“They said there was a whole lotta nothin’ they could do”
“So long and thanks for all the fish.”
I think in this case we can say, “fish” = “fun”.
TV
Just one–too many great ones to mention.
“The major problem - one of the major problems, for there are several - one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them. To summarize: it is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.”
Hey, maybe he’s just planning on spending a year dead for tax reasons!!
Referring to earth:
“Slartibartfast?”
“I told you it wasn’t very interesting…”
Requisat in Pace, Mr. Adams.
“…what’s that strange thing you British play?”
‘Er, cricket? Self-loathing?’
“My dear chap! My dear chap! My dear, dear chap! What was I saying?”
'Er, you were saying “My dear chap” ’
“Ford, you’re turning into a penguin. Stop it.”
“Ford, there’s an infinite number of monkeys outside who want to talk to us about this script for Hamlet they’ve worked out.”
“And I demand that I am Vroomfondel!”
Imagine my uninformed self logging in and finding this thread without having any previous knowledge of the Master’s demise.
this sucks royal.
To summon an appropriate quote would require the use of resources which I currently lack. But, I just had to say this: No other books have made me squawk with laughter (out loud!) like those of Mr. Adams. I just don’t know how it’s possible to be so gifted, so funny, so consistently. What a loss!
sniff, sniff
Bereaved,
Eddy
And just as I was rereading THHGTTG
He has too many gorgeous things to list them all, but here are two of my favorites.
and