This planet has - or rather had - a problem,…

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.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (novel), Introduction

Other The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Quotes

“If I had two heads like you, Zaphod, I could have hours of fun banging them against a wall.” - The Hitchhiker’s Guide the Galaxy Radio Series. - View Quote Details on “If I had two heads like you, Zaphod, I could…
We live in strange times.
We also live in strange places: each in a universe of our own. The people with whom we populate our universes are the shadows of whole other universes intersecting with our own. Being able to glance out into this bewildering complexity of infinite recursion and say thing like, “Oh, hi, Ed! Nice tan. How’s Carol?” involves a great deal of filtering skill for which all conscious entities have eventually to develop a capacity in order to protect themselves from the comtemplation of the chaos through which they see the and world tumble. So give your kid a break, okay? - c. ?; Extract from Practical Parenting in a Fractally Demented Universe - View Quote Details on We live in strange times.
We also live in strange places:…
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (film) - View Quote Details on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (film)
And the wheel,” said the Captain, “What about this wheel thingy? It sounds a terribly interesting project.”
“Ah,” said the marketing girl, “Well, we’re having a little difficulty there.”
“Difficulty?” exclaimed Ford. “Difficulty? What do you mean, difficulty? It’s the single simplest machine in the entire Universe!”
The marketing girl soured him with a look.
“Alright, Mr Wiseguy,” she said, “you’re so clever, you tell us what colour it should be. - View Quote Details on And the wheel,” said the Captain, “What about this wheel…
Mr Prosser: “But the plans were on display…”
Arthur: “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
Mr Prosser: “That’s the display department.”
Arthur: “With a torch.”
Mr Prosser: “Ah, well the lights had probably gone.”
Arthur: “So had the stairs.”
Mr Prosser: “But look, you found the notice didn’t you?”
Arthur: “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying Beware of the Leopard.” - View Quote Details on Arthur:...">Mr Prosser: “But the plans were on display…”
Arthur:…
Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again. - View Quote Details on Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens…
What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” said Marvin, “I’ve never been there. - View Quote Details on "I don't know," said Marvin, "I've never been...">What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” said Marvin, “I’ve never been…
It said: ‘The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why and Where phases.
“For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question How can we eat? the second by the question Why do we eat? and the third by the question Where shall we have lunch?” - View Quote Details on It said: ‘The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends…
It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes. - View Quote Details on It is a mistake to think you can solve any…
“Simple. I got very bored and depressed, so I went and plugged myself in to its external computer feed. I talked to the computer at great length and explained my view of the Universe to it,” said Marvin.
“And what happened?” pressed Ford.
“It committed suicide,” said Marvin [...]. - View Quote Details on “Simple. I got very bored and depressed, so I went…