Mar 11, 2023
English author and screenwriter Douglas Adams was born on March 11, 1952 and he is best-known for his bestselling 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. On his birth anniversary today, here we share some interesting facts about him and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' that one must know.
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'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' was originally written for BBC radio in 1978. It was later expanded to a "trilogy" which has five books!
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In 'Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams' by M.J. Simpson, Geoffrey Perkins, a radio producer, shared that BBC had initially rejected the publishers from releasing 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' as book. However, later Webb won the battle and acquired the rights to the books.
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Adams is said to be drunk, depressed, hitchhiking in Europe with a copy of 'The Hitchhiker’s Guide To Europe', and gazing at the stars one night. This gave him the idea to write 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'!
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After graduating from college, Douglas Adams struggled to be a writer and he even did a few odd-jobs before making it big in the universe!
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Asteroid 18610 was named as Arthurdent, in honour of Douglas Adams, by the Minor Planet Center. And in 2005, asteroid 25924 was named Douglasadams in memory of the author.
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Yes, you read that right! Adams learned the hard way that a towel is an absolute must for a hitchhiker. And so, in his honour the first Towel Day was celebrated on May 25, 2001, by astronaut Tim Peake at the International Space Station (wrt to 'Hitchhiker’s').
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Adams died at the young age of 49 due to a heart attack on May 11, 2001.
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Check out The Times of India's Books section.
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Thanks For Reading!
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