Ultimate Question (2024)

The Ultimate Question is the actual inquiry behind the Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything. The Ultimate Question was sought after the supercomputer Deep Thoughtrevealed the Ultimate Answer to be 42. When Deep Thought asked,Loonquawland Phouchgwere unable to say what the actual question was.

Hence, Deep Thought made the plans for the supercomputer Earth,that would solve the Question in ten million years. However, five minutes before it was due to be complete, the Vogons, under the orders ofGag Halfrunt, destroyed it to make a hyperspace bypass.

It was later revealed that part of the Earth supercomputer was compromised by the Golgafrinchans, whose arrival wiped out the population of humans on the planet.

Possible questions[]

The mice, who originally commissioned the Earth, needed something to say for their 5D chat show. Due to this, they attempted to form some possible questions as they were preparing to take Arthur's brain, such as the following:

  • Why?
  • Are we stronger than the elements?
  • What's yellow and dangerous?
  • What do you get when you multiply six by seven?[1]
  • How many Vogons does it take to change a lightbulb?[2]
  • How many roads must a man walk down? (The mice chose this Question as the one they would claim to be the correct one.)
  • Given the answer 42, what are all possible permutations of questions which give rise to this answer?

Having returned to the supercomputer Earth, albeit in a prehistoric stage, Ford Prefect got Arthur Dent to randomly pull Scrabble tiles out of a bag, revealing information in his unconscious (Marvin announced that he could see the Question imprinted in Arthur's brainwaves). This resulted in the Question: "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?"[3]

Behind the scenes[]

  • It has been noted that in base 13, 6 multiplied by 9 will equal 42. Douglas Adams later joked, "I don't make jokes in base 13."[4]
  • The "how many roads" question is from the lyrics to Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind.

Notes and references[]

  1. This possible Question appeared in the Douglas Adams novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as well as the for-television adaptation.
  2. This possible Question only appeared in the 2005 movie.
  3. From the Douglas Adams book The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and Fit The Sixth of the radio series.
  4. Number 42 Explained by Douglas Adams - Also Base 13 Explained, h2g2; link here.

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Ultimate Question (2024)

FAQs

Ultimate Question? ›

The Ultimate Question is the actual inquiry behind the Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything. The Ultimate Question was sought after the supercomputer Deep Thought revealed the Ultimate Answer to be 42.

What are the ultimate question? ›

The Ultimate Question is the actual inquiry behind the Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything. The Ultimate Question was sought after the supercomputer Deep Thought revealed the Ultimate Answer to be 42.

What is answer 42 the ultimate question? ›

The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, no one knows what the question is.

What does 42 mean in the meaning of life? ›

Forty-two is the ASCII code for the symbol * also known as the asterisk. This symbol is often thought to translate to anything or everything. In this instance, 42 = everything, the meaning of life.

What is the universal answer to every question? ›

Forty-two. A lot of people think this is a joke, but it isn't at all. It comes from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which, while being hysterically funny, was written by a man who had some really deep and important things to say.

Why is 42 a great number? ›

The number 42 is especially significant to fans of science fiction novelist Douglas Adams' “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,” because that number is the answer given by a supercomputer to “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.”

What are some ultimate questions? ›

They are questions about purpose and existence: Why are we here? What happens to us when we die? Why is there so much suffering? Is there a god?

What does 42 mean in slang? ›

Though fans are tempted to look for the meaning in the realm of science, perhaps its [sic] easiest (and most satisfying) to think of 42 as exactly what it is: a symbol of life's inscrutability.

What does 42 in her body mean? ›

'42 in her body' means that she is the embodiment of galaxy… im crying a river.. IM CRYING BAD.

What is cool about 42? ›

42 is the sum of the first six positive even integers (2 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 10 + 12). 42 is one of the tracks on Coldplay′s 2008 album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Cassius and Brutus, the main conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar, died in the year 42 BC.

What are the 6 universal questions? ›

For the last several years I have been troubled by preachers in pulpits who proclaim misinformation about the Book. In this 2½-hour presentation, I lay out answers to the “six universal questions” about the Book: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

What is universe question and answer? ›

It includes all of space, and all the matter and energy that space contains. It even includes time itself and, of course, it includes you. Earth and the Moon are part of the universe, as are the other planets and their many dozens of moons. Along with asteroids and comets, the planets orbit the Sun.

What are the three answers from the universe? ›

“The universe has 3 answers to the thing that you want- yes, not yet, or something better” #quotes #wisdom #mindsetswitch #lawofassumption #relatable.

What do you mean by 42? ›

42 is the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. It was computed by Deep Thought, the second greatest computer ever.

Where did the answer 42 come from? ›

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, advanced alien beings create a supercomputer, called Deep Thought, to figure out the answer to the so-called Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. After calculating for 7.5-million years, Deep Thought determined the answer was the number 42.

What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything else? ›

When Douglas Adams wrote "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", he did not see the relevance of one of the innumerable occurrences that the reader can find in its pages.

What is the ultimate question of life the universe and everything in binary? ›

Muddy Grounds "Life, The Universe, And Everything" safe code: 10-10-10. This is of course a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, where the answer to said question is: 42. In binary, 42 is written as 101010.

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