Towel with the words "Don't Panic" on Towel day

Don't Panic is the simple, two-word phrase used in the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It comes from the actual Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy, an intergalactic travel guide that theoretically served to show planet-hoppers how to see the Universe on less than thirty Altairian dollars a day. The words are printed on the cover of the Guide (always capitalized) "in large friendly letters".^[1](p.3) The novel explains that this was partly because the device "looked insanely complicated" to operate, and partly to keep intergalactic travelers from, well, panicking.^{[1](p. 27)} Image File history File links Portal. ... Image File history File links Towelday_Towel. ... Image File history File links Towelday_Towel. ... Towel Day 2005, Innsbruck, Austria, where, by his own accounts, Adams got the inspiration to write the Guide. ... Dont Panic may be: A catchphrase from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ...

In the novel, it is said that despite its many glaring (and occasionally fatal) inaccuracies, the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy itself has outsold the Encyclopedia Galactica because it's slightly cheaper, and because it has the words "Don't Panic" on the cover.^[1](p.3) An entry about the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation (Marketing Division) from the Encyclopaedia Galactica as featured on the BBC TV series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...

In the novel's typography, the words are always typeset in all caps: DON'T PANIC. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

On the cover of the novel (in early U.S. editions), the words are often accompanied by the image of a round green figure with skinny arms, sticking out a bright red tongue, who also appeared on the 2005 edition of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This text also appeared on the covers of the Illustrated Editions of the first novel.

Much like "42" and "knowing where your towel is",^{[1](p. 34)} the words are sometimes used among fans of the books and radio series to show that they have this passion in common. Look up forty-two in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric or paper used for drying or wiping. ...

See also

• H2G2 - BBC - h2g2 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Douglas Adams Quotes from HHGTTG
• The Douglas Adams Continuum — HHGTTG fansite

H2G2 is also an acronym for the The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Adams, Douglas (1979). The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Pocket Books, p. 3, 27, 34. ISBN 0-671-46149-4.