posted on Jan, 4 2004 @ 10:54 AM
Google it! Here's a decent collection of 42 sightings and possible explanations:
42
But far from my favorite site (which has been shut down).
At one time, I've seen hundreds and hundreds of collected sightings and explanations, but still have my own theory (which relates to THE VOID, from
another post of yours).
Sacred Geometric Principle of the Void (aka 42):
That being, no Triangle (God) may occupy more than 42% of the Circle (Void) it defines by the circumscription of it's THREE defining points.
There's a fractal formula yet to be discovered between 3 and 42 (in my opinion) that explains the Chaos of conciousness.
Play with the Trilogy of Prime existants sometime: Circle (Void), Triangle (God), and Square (Reality). Unless you are prone to OCD in which case I
recommend you avoid this sort of thinking completely.
Another favorite theory (Biblical) is that all the 40 references (40 days and nights of rain, 40 years wandering the desert) were just supposed to
mean "ALOT". Doug Adams gave "ALOT" a slightly more scientific basis in his refined theory: 42.
Of course, Adams himself says he just made it up. It sounded right...to be funny it had to be sufficiently high, yet small enough to be graspable.
By the way, it was already my favorite number before HHGTTG came out and FLOORED me to see it in print in that context.