# Why is 42 the answer to life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243 "2014-06-07T03:33:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/1 "2014-06-07T03:33:24Z")
Here is a list of Theories I have heard: Tribute to Jackie Robinson Double blackjack(2x21) Number of lines on a page Tribute to Lewis Carrol Does anybody know the the true reason why Douglas Adams picked this number? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/2 "2014-06-07T03:39:23Z")
I think it’s in a forward to one of the versions of a HGttG collection. (I can’t find mine, dang it.) Basically, it sounded funnier to him than other numbers, if I’m remembering correctly. Feel free to correct, contradict, or castigate me. 🙂 , ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/3 "2014-06-07T03:55:49Z")
Jokes in base 13, &c. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/4 "2014-06-07T04:18:48Z")
> [@4d3fect](#): > > Jokes in base 13, &c. Nice username. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/5 "2014-06-07T04:51:41Z")
Because it’s what you get if you multiply six by nine. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/6 "2014-06-07T04:53:21Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Here is a list of Theories I have heard: > Tribute to Jackie Robinson > Double blackjack(2x21) > Number of lines on a page > Tribute to Lewis Carrol > Does anybody know the the true reason why Douglas Adams picked this number? Because he thought it was (obviously) of no significance. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/7 "2014-06-07T04:58:14Z")
Yes, the answer to life is Jackie Robinson. It all makes sense now. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/8 "2014-06-07T04:59:24Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Because it’s what you get if you multiply six by nine. Only if you are working some strange base that isn’t base 10. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/9 "2014-06-07T05:03:55Z")
It was just fortuitous. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/10 "2014-06-07T05:06:58Z")
Another thing I just realized, there are 42 gallons in a barrel of oil. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/11 "2014-06-07T05:08:31Z")
> [@Miss\_Woodhouse](#): > > Only if you are working some strange base that isn’t base 10. If you’d read the books, you’d know that 6 x 9 = 42 is another Douglas Adams joke. Simply, the reason for anything in Douglas Adams’ books is that it’s a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/12 "2014-06-07T05:14:30Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > If you’d read the books, you’d know that 6 x 9 = 42 is another Douglas Adams joke. > > Simply, the reason for anything in Douglas Adams’ books is that it’s a joke. I saw one recently that was a twist on this, it said “Math is the meaning of life M is the 13th letter A is the 1st letter T is the 20th letter H is the 8th letter 13+1+20+8= 42” I thought it was at least clever. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/13 "2014-06-07T05:18:08Z")
Douglas Adams has remained funny even in death. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/14 "2014-06-07T07:31:36Z")
If you think there is, or should be, an explanation, you haven’t got the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/15 "2014-06-07T08:28:09Z")
…Well, why _wouldn’t_ it be? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/16 "2014-06-07T08:33:05Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Because it’s what you get if you multiply six by nine. I always knew there was something fundamentally wrong with the universe. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2014, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/17 "2014-06-07T09:04:31Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > I think it’s in a forward to one of the versions of a HGttG collection. (I can’t find mine, dang it.) > > Basically, it sounded funnier to him than other numbers, if I’m remembering correctly. > > Feel free to correct, contradict, or castigate me. 🙂 > , That’s it precisely. In an interview, Adams said: > [@](#): > > The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought ‘42 will do’. I typed it out. End of story. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/18 "2014-06-07T09:14:04Z")
I prefer to think he foretold the coming of Darren Milane ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/19 "2014-06-07T11:42:44Z")
Regardless of what Adams may have said, I don’t think it’s coincidental that Lewis Carroll used 42 a LOT in the Alice books (and in _Hunting of the Snark_ as well.) I like to think that may have been floating around in Adams’ head, unconsciously. Especially since Carroll’s writing, while full of jokes and humor, has a bleak metaphysical underbelly… hence, Life. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243/20 "2014-06-07T11:56:01Z")
Because 42 / 3 = 14. And as any fule kno, there are 14 k of g in a f p d. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-42-the-answer-to-life/690243.md?page=2)