T-27: Don’t Panic

Those who visit the Google homepage at google.com daily are familiar with the “Google Doodle.” Google uses these illustrations to replace their standard primary-colored name logo above the search box. I don’t usually see it, because I use Chrome and search directly from the address bar. But I had students at school using the computer today and so I happened to notice it:

The picture here isn’t interactive, but the real one on the Google homepage is, so if you have a chance to check it out while it’s still there today, please do.

It is of course a tribute to one of my favorite authors and humorists of all time, Douglas Adams, who would have turned 61 today. Sadly, he passed away prematurely just past the turn of the century, at the age of 49. His most famous work was The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, which actually began as a BBC radio series before it was a book (with four sequels) and then became a BBC television series, computer games, etc.  What didn’t come during his lifetime was the long-delayed feature film adaptation, which was a disappointment to many fans, including myself, when it finally came out in 2005.

So for those who are not familiar with the man I consider the best satirist since Mark Twain, let this be your introduction. We should all understand the significance of 42. Oh, and if you are so bored as to be interested in probably my oldest surviving artifact on the Web, click here and scroll down to the review titled “Don’t laugh so hard that you forget to think!!, August 7, 1997″