fnord
Ok, my tapes are dead and I haven’t gotten the new audio book versions on cd yet, and my hard copies of the books are at my parents house but… I would swear that this quote is from Life the Universe and everything the British version (maybe American too, but I only read the American version once) when they are talking about the somebody else’s problem field. When I was a kid I used to listen to the audio books habitually and the second I read the quote that is what shot into my brain. Someone take a look at that section of the book and tell me if I am right, I am fairly sure Arthur asks about the SEP and Ford says something like That’s the beauty bit, it doesn’t do anything, it just takes advantage of the fact that people don’t see what they can’t accept. Something like that.
<hijak>and while we are on the subject, the best bit in any of those books was in So Long and Thanks for all the Fish, when Ford is talking about the Lizard people planet. I can’t quote it directly anymore (and as I said I am temporarily without H2G2 things) but Ford tells Arthur that it is an ancient democracy ruled by lizards and populated by people, the people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.
Arthur: why don’t the people just not vote for the lizards?
Ford: Because if they don’t vote the wrong lizard might get in.
<End hijak>
King Tut: “What does it do?”
Architect: “That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t do anything.”
Nebu: “What does it do?”
Chatroom Designer: “That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t do anything.”
Child : “What does it do?”
Tramp : “That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t do anything.”
i got nothing
For some reason Who Framed Roger Rabbit popped into my head. Surely I didn’t come up with something that has puzzled the best minds over at IMDB. A search of the entire original thread and the thread containing refuted possibilities, and this site didn’t get a hit on the word “rabbit” that corresponded to WFRR. It’s been years since I’ve seen the film and I don’t have immediate access to a copy. Can anyone check?
Another meme victim checking in.
I don’t suppose this could have come from a TV commercial, could it? It brings to mind one of those ads showing a couple of disaffected corporate IT guys commenting on some insane machine or marketing tactic, cut to the logo of the company running the ad with a voiceover explaining how their company’s services will help your business do things right.
“I’d thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes…”
Just read through the SEP bit and it’s most definitely not there, in any shape or form.
This sounds right to me, even after TellMeI’mNotCrazy’s post.
Googling with the SEP in mind showed nothing.
The answer here is clear: we need to make a movie that includes this quote, verbatim. That’ll fix everything.
The problem is, it sounded right to me too. But as I said, everything everyone says sounds right. And of course, I got my book and it isn’t there.
Besides which, there’s plenty people who have heard/read it, but have never read/watched/heard h2g2.
Well, at least you guys are more intelligent than much of the IMDB folk’s responses, which consisted largely of things like (and I’m paraphrasing):
SeinfeldFan354:
IT’S FROM SEINFELD!!! I NO OK I HAVE THE DVD SET AND JERRY TOLD ME SO.
AllKnowing:
It’s from The Simpsons. I’m positive.
Reply:
No, it’s not, I just watched the entire series.
AllKnowing:
Yes, it is.
Reply:
No it’s not.
Repeat ad nauseum.
Seriously though, my mother thinks Kevin Costner said it, but she probably credits him with “Ich bin ein Berliner” too.
And that whole ambiguous scenario about two guys looking at an object or whatever clicked with me, but I could just be open to suggestion. I’m thinking TV too.
When I hear the quote in my mind, I hear an acerbic tone with a Philly accent. I’m leaning towards an old B&W movie.
But, I am leaning even stronger to this being an amalgam.
I have a picture in my head of some cartoon series. Of course the problem is tracking down every cartoon series with a mad scientist type in it.
Gilligans Planet
Back To The Future
Return Of The Killer Tomatoes…
I’m not hearing it as a movie line, I’m reading it.
I think I read it in a sci-fi or a fantasy/horror done by a sci-fi author. The person who said it was a malevolent huckster type, and the hearer was a boy. I want to say that it was “Something Wicked this Way Comes”, but I apparently don’t have that book. And I can barely remember several other “naif in the magic shop” themed stories.
Oops, that was me. :o
Although if I’m right he’ll probably claim it. 
This echoes my notion that it was Ray Bradbury (see above). I will now repair to my library and see if I can find something in that collection. Everyone should stay right there until I return. xo C.
Thanks! That’s what I’ve been hearing in my head and wondering why I couldn’t place the movie.
My first thought was Cube.
I have read something very similar to that…but it was in an old book about the Apple Macintosh, and had to do with PowerBook batteries. Somehow, I doubt that’s the source of the meme.
The longer this topic goes on, the more I believe the explanation that it was a joke created to drive people nuts.