Douglas Adams Quotes

I saw the film based on his book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy, and was inspired to hunt for his quotes. Here they are, you be the judge. One of the characters in the film, Zaphod Beeblebrox is fashioned after Mr. Richard Branson, I think deliberately. The film is fun to watch too.
He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which.

He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.

 Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them round to dinner.

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.

It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.


It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase 'As pretty as an Airport' appear.


There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

You live and learn. At any rate, you live.


Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

Douglas Adams"Last Chance to See"
The last time anybody made a list of the top hundred character attributes of New Yorkers, common sense snuck in at number 79.

Douglas Adams"Mostly Harmless"
He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.

Douglas Adams"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.

Douglas Adams"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
Ah, this is obviously some strange usage of the word 'safe' that I wasn't previously aware of.

Douglas AdamsArthur Dent in "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"
The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.

Douglas AdamsMostly Harmless
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

Douglas AdamsThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.

Douglas AdamsThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty- five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.

Douglas AdamsThe Salmon of Doubt
Even he, to whom most things that most people would think were pretty smart were pretty dumb, thought it was pretty smart.

Douglas AdamsThe Salmon of Doubt, p. 205

3 comments:

Diamond Head said...

These are awesome ...I recently read a tome by a Princeton economist who quoted another brethren talking about what happens in the long run if a policy does or does not work out - His response was "In the Long Run we are all Dead" so as to draw attention to focusing on the here and now

Douglas Adams said...

I really enjoy your quotes collection. I have compiled some quotes from you. Thanks for sharing!! You may like Douglas Adams Quotes

Rajendra said...

Thank you, Douglas!

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