‘This must be Thursday,’ said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer.
Douglas Adams (1952–2001), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
‘I never could get the hang of Thursdays.’
Following on from the Hitchhiker’s Guide Trivia Quizzes I did for Towel Day 2020, 2021 and 2022, here’s another to celebrate Towel Day, 25May2023!
The answers will be available in a password-protected post later today (at 22:10:10 UTC). (You can find clues to the password by reading the four posts in the 2020 quiz.)
So, without further ado: let’s wind the frog:
Oops, wrong genre. Good luck, hoopy froods!
Q1: The Guide suggests that someone may have hired the Vogons to destroy the Earth because if the Ultimate Question is found the universe will become a good and happy place. Who is that someone?
Q2: What are the brown stains on Roosta’s towel?
Q3: How tall is Arthur Dent?
Q4: What is the name of the device which is the latest in instant space travel, by which a ship may be ejected suddenly through the space time continuum and come to rest far from its starting point?
Q5: Who says, “I’m waiting… I can wait all day if necessary”?
Q6: When Zaphod slips in the ‘cold mysterious cave’, what does Ford use to try to rescue him?
Q7: What’s the best way to irritate a vogon?
Q8: Between which pages in the Guide’s glossary can you find the statistics of the geosocial nature of the universe?
Q9: For whom does Zaphod autograph a photograph ‘With deep anger and resentment’?
Q10: In the derelict spaceport, what does Zaphod make with four bits of tubing?
Q11: What phrase does Marvin repeat when he finds himself at the bottom of a deep, dark hole?
Q12: Who is the author of the 12-book epic entitled ‘My Favourite Bathtime Gurgles’?
Q13: After Marvin was made, he was left in a dark room. How long was he left there?
Q14: Who is it who has been asked to give a few words to mark the beginning of work on the very splendid and worthwhile new Bevingford bypass?
Q15: Who was mentioned as appearing in ‘No Sex Please, We’re Amoeboid Zingat-Ularians’ at the Brantersvogon Starhouse?
Q16: What famous street on Earth features in the Dolmansaxlil film ‘Adventures in Aggressive Marketing’?
Q17: What are the names of the two representatives from the Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Professional Thinking Persons who attempt to stop Deep Thought thinking about the Answer?
Q18: What is it that some thinkers have chosen to see as a final clinching proof of the non-existence of god?
Q19: Who were famous for singing an incredibly long and beautiful song about five sage princes with four horses who ventured forth from the city of Vasillian?
Q20: When Ford and Zaphod finally meet Zarniwoop, what does Ford ask for?
Q21: How did Ford Prefect originally get to the Earth?
Q22: Complete the following well-known phrase or saying: “Looks like a fish, moves like a fish, _____ ____ _ ___.”
Q23: What bears as much relation to a ‘lift’ as a packet of peanuts does to the entire west wing of the Syrian State Mental Hospital?
Q24: Who do Ford and Zaphod find in the first class compartment of the ship they get into in the derelict spaceport?
Q25: Who arrives at Milliways just as the universe goes ‘fwoom’?
Q26: Who taunts Zaphod by asking him what he’d really like and then ordering the fire hoses to be turned on him?
Q27: What is the name of the forest planet where the entire intelligent population of the planet lives in one fairly small and crowded nut tree?
Q28: How many times does Arthur say something like, “we’re going to die!”?
Q29: How many heads does Zaphod have?
Q30: When the workman wipes a couple of Arthur Dent’s windows, how much does he charge for this service?
Q31: On what planet do Ford and Zaphod find a vast derelict spaceport?
Q32: When our heroes are in the Haggunenon ship and Trillian says “Hey! That sounds better! Have you managed to make some sense of the controls?”, what is Ford’s response?
Q33: Who was voted the worst-dressed sentient being in the universe for the seventh time running?
Q34: What is the name of the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon VI?
Q35: When the intrepid heroes arrive on Magrathea, what sign does Trillian spot that indicates that they’re not the first beings to go down that corridor in five million years?
Q36: Approximately how big is the ‘boulder’ underneath which Ford and Arthur find themselves?
Q37: Who rediscovered and patented a device called a ‘staircase’ he had found in a history book?
Q38: What derives its picture of the whole universe on the principle of matter analyses?
Q39: Who is the author of the handbook for masochists entitled “Heavily Modified Face Flannels”?
Q40: Exactly how much suspicion did Arthur Dent have that one of his closest friends was not descended from an ape, but was in fact from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse?
Q41: Who knows his destiny no better than a tea leaf knows the history of the East India Company?
Q42: At what point did our heroes all enter Zarniwoop’s universe?
Post your score in the comments :)
Wibble 
I can answer a few of those off the top of my head, but for the others I’d have to consult the books.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, but: all of the questions from the quizzes I’ve published here on Wibble every Towel Day since 2020 are based upon just the Primary and Secondary Phases of the original radio show (hmm… perhaps I should have mentioned that up top, somewhere? Oh, well…). The content of the various adaptations (books, BBC TV series, and of course The Movie I Refuse To Even Consider Watching) often differ.
There’s also at least one internal inconsistency just in the Primary and Secondary Phases: I noticed it by chance a few years ago (How far did Marvin fall?).
Perhaps DNA was a fan of the multiverse theory… or maybe he was trying to highlight that reality is a peculiarly odd (and highly mutable, being so often dependent upon perspective) critter… or possibly he was simply employing his marvellous gift for humour (in ways we mere mortals can’t imagine).
LikeLike
I panicked. But I think I flunked.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, naturally you flunked if you panicked. I find that sucking a corner of my towel sometimes helps. Carry on banging the rocks together! :)
LikeLike
Pingback: Towel Day 2023 Quiz Answers (see clues in the 2020 quiz for the password) | Wibble
Well. last year I got them all correct. This time, I’ve written all my answers in a document to see hoy my friends do. For one of the question’s (no spoilers), it took me a while to remember Gardilla’s surname.
Good fun, just like last year. Thanks.
Happy Towel Day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You got all of last year’s right? Wow, colour me impressed! I created these quizzes after binge-listening to the Primary and Secondary Phases a trio of years back – and now struggle to answer even a handful of the questions off the bat. And I’m having trouble even remembering Gardilla’s first name. All of which, of course, simply means that it’s time for me to listen to it all over again… I do so enjoy having something to look forward to.
I am very glad to hear that you found my ‘umble offerings entertaining. Thank you for your visit, and taking the time to comment.
PS Do you have any spare round tuits? I’m all out, and need to prepare next year’s quiz (which, The Lord willing, will be on the Tertiary Phase).
PPS As you appear to be among the hoopiest of froods, I would dearly love to know what your answer is to this year’s question #42….
LikeLike
My answer was a bit long-winded. First of all I had to decide what you meant by ‘our heroes’. Then there’s the matter of if you’re talking about the radio series or the book. However, you said you used the Radio scripts as a reference.
Still, the question is difficult to answer since:
* The radio scripts don’t really make it clear when ‘our heroes’ entered Zarniwoop’s universe. The scripts don’t make it clear when Zaphod enters it
* (The book states that he entered Zarny’s universe when he entered Zarniwoop’s office).
This question had led to considerable online discussion:
1. https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/186624/in-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-radio-series-which-parts-of-the-second
2. https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Zarniwoop
3. https://www.reddit.com/r/DontPanic/comments/2ty2y9/when_do_you_think_they_entered_zarniwhoops/
So, yeh, a tricky one. :)
Question for you: what the Photon is a round tuit? :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
The reason I’m interested is that, er, Zarniwoop (I think) expresses surprise (in the original radio show) that ‘our heroes’ (who are of course Arthur, Ford, and perhaps Zaphod too, though then again maybe not) aren’t aware of when they crossed that particular boundary. If I sound a bit vague, that’s because I am; I need to listen to it all over again (I’m always grateful for any excuse to do so). Thanks for the links!† I don’t have time to follow them now, but I’m going to at some point‡… once I get a round tuit ;)
† (More than one link in a comment here on Wibble automagically plonks the comment in the moderation queue. An anti-spam measure: I’m sure you’ll understand.)
‡ … though I’ll have to remember to do that. I’m tempted to leave your comment in moderation to prompt me, but that would be terribly impolite.
LikeLike
Last year, we discussed Fintlewoodlewix. I used a different email but the same name.
LikeLike