The meaning of life, the universe and everything: the answer is 42

As part of popular culture, fans of the novel have been racking their brains since its publication in 1978, trying to uncover a deep, symbolic meaning behind the number 42.

So far, no one has found an answer that fully satisfies the geek community, but the truth is that throughout history, many numbers have been attributed special meanings. Philosophers such as Plato regarded the study of numerical symbolism as the highest form of knowledge. Others, such as Pythagoras, believed that numbers had souls and even magical powers.

Our obsession with numbers goes back a long way, but 42 is the number of our time.

If there is one community that has elevated the number 42 to cult status, it is programmers. In binary, 42 is 101010, and character number 42 in ASCII is the asterisk, which is commonly used as a wildcard. Both coincidences have inspired countless Easter eggs and hidden references.

At 42 Madrid, where there are no teachers guiding students through their learning, knowing how to ask the right questions becomes essential. Knowledge exists and can be reached through independent research and collaboration with peers, but first you need to learn how to learn. 42 embraces that spirit — and the idea of never stopping asking questions.

By the way, have you ever tried typing “the answer to life the universe and everything” into Google? A good time to do so might be once you have finished reading this article.

While fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and programmers around the world continue trying to unravel everything hidden behind the number 42, here are 42 facts that we hope will fuel your growing fascination with it:

  1. The first book in the world printed using movable type was the Gutenberg Bible, which has 42 lines per page.
  2. 42 years passed between the first and final films of the Star Wars Skywalker Saga.
  3. The episode of Doctor Who entitled “42” lasts 42 minutes.
  4. The Titanic was travelling at the equivalent of 42 km/h when it struck the iceberg.
  5. In East Asia, including parts of China, tall buildings often avoid having a 42nd floor because of tetraphobia, the fear of the number four, as the words for “four” and “death” can sound alike in some East Asian languages. The same applies to numbers such as 4, 14 and 24.
  6. Elvis Presley died at the age of 42.
  7. Buzz Lightyear’s spaceship in Toy Story is called 42.
  8. The youngest president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, was 42 years old when he took office.
  9. The office of Google executive Eric Schmidt at the company’s San Francisco complex is located in Building 42.
  10. A single Big Mac contains 42% of the recommended daily salt intake.
  11. The sport of cricket has 42 laws.
  12. Fox Mulder’s apartment in the American TV series The X-Files was number 42.
  13. On page 42 of the original edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry discovers that he is a wizard.
  14. On page 42 of the original edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Jonathan Harker discovers that he is the vampire’s prisoner.
  15. On page 42 of the original edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein reveals that he is capable of creating life.
  16. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence gives Juliet a potion that will leave her in a death-like coma for “two and forty hours.”
  17. The three best-selling albums of all time — Michael Jackson’s Thriller, AC/DC’s Back in Black and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon — all last 42 minutes.
  18. In 2004, asteroid DA42 was renamed 25924 Douglasadams.
  19. A marathon covers a distance of 42 km and 195 m.
  20. On average, 42,000 tennis balls are used at the Wimbledon Championships every year.
  21. Molybdenum has the atomic number 42 and is also the 42nd most abundant element in the universe.
  22. Cell 42 on Alcatraz Island was home to Robert Stroud, who was transferred to the prison in 1942. Following a serious altercation, he spent 42 years in solitary confinement across different prisons.
  23. In the Book of Revelation, it is prophesied that the Beast will have dominion over the Earth for 42 months.
  24. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland contains 42 illustrations.
  25. 42 is the favourite number of Dr House, the fictional American television doctor played by Hugh Laurie.
  26. In an episode of The Simpsons, Police Chief Wiggum wakes up to find a question being put to him and answers: “42.”
  27. There are 42 principles of Ma’at, the ancient Egyptian goddess of physical and moral law, order and truth.
  28. Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died at the age of 42; they had 42 grandchildren, and their great-grandson Edward VIII abdicated at the age of 42.
  29. There are 42 territories in the board game Risk.
  30. When the Large Hadron Collider scientific complex needed to build a new office building, it named the new complex Building 42.
  31. The angle of refraction of light through water at the point where a rainbow is formed is 42 degrees.
  32. 42 is the final number in the sequence at the heart of one of the great mysteries of the TV series Lost.
  33. In Kabbalistic tradition, there is a 42-letter name with mystical significance linked to another Babylonian name that also contained the same number of letters. Both refer to “the infinite.”
  34. The British band Coldplay has a song called “42.”
  35. Adult dogs and wolves have 42 teeth.
  36. The official TIFF file specifications state that the number 42 was chosen to appear at the beginning of every file because of its “profound philosophical significance.”
  37. Chuck Yeager was the first pilot to break the sound barrier. He did so at an altitude of 42,000 feet.
  38. The highest possible score in the International Mathematical Olympiad is 42.
  39. 42 hams were used to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest sandwich. It happened in Huelva, Spain.
  40. The gateway to Heaven in the TV series Supernatural is marked with the number 42.
  41. 42 years ago, the world’s first spam email was sent. You can read about it on the 42 Madrid Twitter account.
  42. The person writing these lines lives at number 42 on their street, on the 4th floor, apartment 2.

The myths surrounding the number 42 make about as much sense as the answer given by a supercomputer in a British comedy novel.

“The answer to this is very simple,” Adams said before his death. “It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base 13 number systems, Tibetan monks… all of that is complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought, ‘42 will do,’ and typed it out. End of story.”

By Eduardo Santana