The first novel in Douglas Adams’s beloved sci-fi franchise, has been enthralling earthlings since 1979. But before it was published, it was a series of broadcasts on BBC Radio—and listening to the audiobook lets you enjoy the original charm of its spoken performance. In his narration of the iconic volume that inspired six more books, a television series, a video game, and a feature film, esteemed actor Stephen Fry enhances Adams’s thought-provoking passages while delivering impeccable comedic execution of the novel’s off-the-wall, absurdist humor. These 42 quotes from the are some of our favorites in the whole saga—maybe even the whole galaxy.
Quotes About Humanity
Although The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy revolves around interstellar travel and the destruction of Earth, Adams's insights on the human condition are just as relevant on our home planet. Metaphorical or otherwise, these quotes may help you reflect on your own life and your place in the universe.
1. “For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.” — Douglas Adams,
2. “He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.” — Douglas Adams,
3. “This planet has—or rather had—a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.” — Douglas Adams,
4. “One of the things Ford Prefect had always found hardest to understand about humans was their habit of continually stating and repeating the very very obvious.” — Douglas Adams,
5. “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.” — Douglas Adams,
6. "‘Did I do anything wrong today,’ he said, ‘or has the world always been like this and I've been too wrapped up in myself to notice?’” — Douglas Adams,
7. “I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed.” — Douglas Adams,
8. “Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.” — Douglas Adams,
9. “My capacity for happiness...you could fit into a matchbox without taking out the matches first.” — Douglas Adams,
10. “Here, for whatever reason, is the world. And here it stays. With me on it.” — Douglas Adams,
11. “There’s an infinite number of monkeys outside who want to talk to us about this script for Hamlet they’ve worked out.” — Douglas Adams,
12. “Reality is frequently inaccurate.” — Douglas Adams,
13. “What is it? The girls? The leather? The machismo? Or do you just find that coming to terms with the mindless tedium of it all presents an interesting challenge?” — Douglas Adams,
Quotes About Wisdom and Logic
Adams also provides many thoughts concerning wisdom and logic. From questions about space and divinity to comments about individual happiness, Adams had a way of weaving in these small tidbits of contemplation.
14. “Don't Panic.” — Douglas Adams,
15. “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.” — Douglas Adams,
16. “Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?” — Douglas Adams,
17. “I'd far rather be happy than right any day.” — Douglas Adams,
18. “If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now.” — Douglas Adams,
19. “‘You know,’ said Arthur, ‘it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young.’ ‘Why, what did she tell you?’ ‘I don't know, I didn't listen.’” — Douglas Adams,
20. “The answer to the great question...of Life, the Universe and Everything...is...forty-two.” — Douglas Adams,
21. “The argument goes something like this: ‘I refuse to prove that I exist,’ says God, ‘for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.’” — Douglas Adams,
22. “Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” — Douglas Adams,
23. “All through my life I've had this strange unaccountable feeling that something was going on in the world, something big, even sinister, and no one would tell me what it was.” — Douglas Adams,
24. “Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.” — Douglas Adams,
25. “Perhaps I'm old and tired, but I always think that the chances of finding out what really is going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say hang the sense of it and just keep yourself occupied.” — Douglas Adams,
26. “So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means.” — Douglas Adams,
27. “Well, I mean, yes idealism, yes the dignity of pure research, yes the pursuit of truth in all its forms, but there comes a point I'm afraid where you begin to suspect that the entire multidimensional infinity of the Universe is almost certainly being run by a bunch of maniacs.” — Douglas Adams,
28. “I don’t know what I’m looking for... I think it might be because if I knew I wouldn’t be able to look for them.” — Douglas Adams,
29. “Looking up into the night sky is looking into infinity—distance is incomprehensible and therefore meaningless.” — Douglas Adams,
Quotes Just for Fun
At the end of the day, though it’s provocative and philosophical, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is best known for its brilliant moments of comedy. Adams’s writing is rich with humor, making the end-of-the-world plot paradoxically full of laughs.
30. “For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.” — Douglas Adams,
31. “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't." — Douglas Adams,
32. “Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” — Douglas Adams,
33. “The last ever dolphin message was misinterpreted as a surprisingly sophisticated attempt to do a double-backwards-somersault through a hoop whilst whistling the 'Star Spangled Banner,' but in fact the message was this: ‘So long and thanks for all the fish.’” — Douglas Adams,
34. “We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!” — Douglas Adams,
35. “‘What's so unpleasant about being drunk?’ ‘You ask a glass of water!’” — Douglas Adams,
36. “In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.” — Douglas Adams,
37. “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy also mentions alcohol. It says that the best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. The effect of which is like having your brains smashed out with a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.” — Douglas Adams,
38. “‘I don't want to die now!’ he yelled. ‘I've still got a headache! I don't want to go to heaven with a headache, I'd be all cross and wouldn't enjoy it!’” — Douglas Adams,
39. “Hence a phrase which has passed into hitch hiking slang, as in ‘Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is.’ (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)” — Douglas Adams,
40. “And all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before—and thus was the Empire forged.” — Douglas Adams,
41. “Very deep... You should send that in to the Reader's Digest. They've got a page for people like you.” — Douglas Adams,
42. “Why should I want to make anything up? Life’s bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it.” — Douglas Adams,
