# The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - a minor mystery solved **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704 "2007-04-04T13:42:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/1 "2007-04-04T13:42:21Z")
A couple of years ago I asked [this question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=290990&highlight=Galaxy), based on a dimly remembered name from _THHGTTG_, about whether the Guide had originally been invented by someone named Web. I thought it was a neat coincidence, if true. Well, as I recently got hold of the DVD of the 1980s BBC TV series, I can report that I was almost right. In the graphics sequence in episode (I think) 5, relating facts about the universe (8 ningis = 1 Triganic pu, etc.), there’s a brief drawing of the editor of the Guide, who goes by the name **Web Nixo**. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/2 "2007-04-04T16:06:23Z")
Second cousin to **Kit Fisto.** and **Kam Fong** as **Chin Ho**! ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/3 "2007-04-04T16:14:40Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] (8 ningis = 1 Triganic pu, etc.) [/QUOTE] Hah! fiddly small change. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/4 "2007-04-04T16:21:32Z")
It really is amazing that the guide seemed like such a neat but unlikely device a quarter-century ago. Now we can see it for what it is: A Wi-Fi enabled PDA. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/5 "2007-04-04T16:24:25Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] It really is amazing that the guide seemed like such a neat but unlikely device a quarter-century ago. Now we can see it for what it is: A Wi-Fi enabled PDA. [/QUOTE] But these days we can see that roving researchers such as Ford Prefect would hardly be necessary – surely the Guide would work better as a wiki? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/6 "2007-04-04T16:41:40Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] surely the Guide would work better as a wiki? 😉 [/QUOTE] It would fit perfectly with the guide’s inaccuracies and its policy of ‘when the guide disagrees with reality, it’s reality that has got it wrong.’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/7 "2007-04-04T17:54:34Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] It really is amazing that the guide seemed like such a neat but unlikely device a quarter-century ago. Now we can see it for what it is: A Wi-Fi enabled PDA. [/QUOTE] I remember at first reading being utterly flummoxed as to what an “electronic book” could possibly be. The idea of a viewscreen never occurred to me, as a book has to have pages, right? The best I could visualize was a few plastic sheets that print would scroll up like the Star Wars opening blurb, sandwiched in between two stiffer plastic sheets, with the whole shebang tucked into a case like the boxlike pressboard case my copy of Little Women came in. And I could never work out where the buttons came in. In my defense, I was 10. And I didn’t “get” Eccentria Gallumbits, either! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/8 "2007-04-04T18:14:08Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] It would fit perfectly with the guide’s inaccuracies and its policy of ‘when the guide disagrees with reality, it’s reality that has got it wrong.’ 😃 [/QUOTE] This would be the precursor to _Truthiness_, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/9 "2007-04-04T18:38:43Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] It really is amazing that the guide seemed like such a neat but unlikely device a quarter-century ago. Now we can see it for what it is: A Wi-Fi enabled PDA. [/QUOTE] My PDA doesn’t speak in Stephen Fry’s voice /pout/. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/10 "2007-04-04T18:44:57Z")
[QUOTE=Annie] My PDA doesn’t speak in Stephen Fry’s voice /pout/. [/QUOTE] You could get one that does, can’t you? Maybe not today, but surely in a few more years. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/11 "2007-04-04T18:50:55Z")
[QUOTE=Annie] My PDA doesn’t speak in Stephen Fry’s voice /pout/. [/QUOTE] Everyone knows the _real_ guide is voiced by Peter Jones. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/12 "2007-04-04T19:45:23Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] I remember at first reading being utterly flummoxed as to what an “electronic book” could possibly be. The idea of a viewscreen never occurred to me, as a book has to have pages, right? The best I could visualize was a few plastic sheets that print would scroll up like the Star Wars opening blurb, sandwiched in between two stiffer plastic sheets, with the whole shebang tucked into a case like the boxlike pressboard case my copy of Little Women came in. And I could never work out where the buttons came in. [/QUOTE] That sounds an awful lot like [electronic paper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper) ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/13 "2007-04-04T19:48:27Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] You could get one that does, can’t you? Maybe not today, but surely in a few more years. [/QUOTE] In the meantime, the [Jeeves](http://www.voco.uk.com/) clock! (Caution: Sound) ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/14 "2007-04-04T22:15:24Z")
I was about 18 when I first read the books and listened to the radio series (1981?) and the visual image I formulated of the Guide was like an over-sized calculator with a large screen, so I suppose I wasn’t too far off. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@MonkeyMule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMule)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/15 "2007-04-04T22:15:47Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] But these days we can see that roving researchers such as Ford Prefect would hardly be necessary – surely the Guide would work better as a wiki? 😉 [/QUOTE] Not really, you might need the reporters to cover the lesser known areas of space, like earth, that practicaly no one goes to. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/16 "2007-04-05T00:18:21Z")
[QUOTE=Martha] I was about 18 when I first read the books and listened to the radio series (1981?) and the visual image I formulated of the Guide was like an over-sized calculator with a large screen, so I suppose I wasn’t too far off. [/QUOTE] I had one of those scientific calculators with the big screen and a plastic cover that slid over the top. Of course, I drew the DON’T PANIC logo on the cover in Biro. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/17 "2007-04-05T18:07:47Z")
[QUOTE=Annie] In the meantime, the [Jeeves](http://www.voco.uk.com/) clock! (Caution: Sound) [/QUOTE] Thank you for this. I admire Jeeves (and Stephen Fry’s interpretation of him) enormously. O for my own “gentleman’s gentleman”! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/18 "2007-04-05T18:29:17Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] This would be the precursor to _Truthiness_, wouldn’t it? [/QUOTE] Actually the precursor of _Wikiality_. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/19 "2007-04-05T20:26:04Z")
[QUOTE=Annie] In the meantime, the [Jeeves](http://www.voco.uk.com/) clock! (Caution: Sound) [/QUOTE] Oh, my god. I want this so badly. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-a-minor-mystery-solved/398704/20 "2007-04-05T22:35:38Z")
[QUOTE=Tristan] Oh, my god. I want this so badly. [/QUOTE] I’m waiting for the ‘madame’ version in May. I can’t imagine what it will cost to have it shipped to Canada but it will be worth it!