The Subject of Towels

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels. A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.”

So for any intrepid adventuring interstellar hitchhikers, Nerd By Night has quite thoughtfully created a wonderful tutorial for how to make a towel even more useful by turning it into a messenger bag. Of course, to improve it even further, one should include the words “Don’t Panic” in large, friendly letters across the front. All you need is a towel and some thread!

Don't Panic Towel Messenger Bag

“Partly it has great practical value — you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble?sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindbogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you — daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

“More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might have accidentally “lost”. What the strag will think is that any man that can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.”

Don’t Panic Thursday Flickr

Don't Panic cross-stitch

This week’s Flickr pick is some sage like advice, Don’t Panic. It was cross stitched by Crafty & Devious. It’s easier not to panic if you always know where your towel is. Just sayin’.

Bottled Babel Fish

Today I would like to share with you the skills of a talented lady, Lydia Niziblian.

Here in her Shottlebop Store, among the many spectacular creations, she pays tribute to the delightfully geeky Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by bottling the Babel fish to provide us with “Instant Universal Translation”

It is available as a rocking necklace or as a awesome pair of earrings.

As well as making delightful bottled concoctions she also works with silver and gold to create unique handmade jewellery.

Douglas Adams – Friday Roundup

It’s that time of the week again! This week’s round up is brought to you by the number 42! Here are my top picks that honour Douglas Adams!

 

First, it’s always important to know where your towel is. With this pattern from Pickle Lady Farm you can proudly make it for your home!

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Continue reading Douglas Adams – Friday Roundup

Flickr Pool: Marvin Night-time Embroidery.

In my household reading the Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy is a rite of passage. It’s lexicon is the language of our everyday social interactions within the house. It’s a beautiful thing.

It’s very confusing for visitors.

So looking in the Flickr pool for today’s feature, there was only one choice for me.

Amazingly LadyHazard has never read the books, but she certainly captured the spirit (or lack thereof) of our favourite paranoid android. Its a beautiful piece (but just a slight warning, her photostream is awesome… but NSFW!… there you were warned, now go there anyway :-) )

Awesome work LadyHazard