Page 71 - Other Facts

Stephen Fry claims that Douglas Adams told him why he chose the number 42 as the answer to the “Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.”

In the first novel of Douglas Adams’ hit comic fiction series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe, a group of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings demand the answer to the “Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything” from a super computer by the name of Deep Thought. It takes Deep Thought 7.5 million years to calculate the answer, and that answer turns out to be 42. 

Through the course of the series, it was never clearly revealed what exactly the “Question” was, and why 42 was its answer. Now, there have been many speculations as to why Adams chose “42.” Some say that it’s because 42 is 101010 in binary code, other say it has to do with the fact that light refracts off water by 42 degrees to create a rainbow. Adams has said that he just chose a random number; “I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought, ’42 will do’.” 

However, not even Adams’ own testimony that 42 is a completely random number, is enough to convince people that it is. Stephen Fry, a friend of Adams, claims that Adams told him “exactly why 42,” and that the reason is “fascinating, extraordinary, and when you think hard about it, completely obvious.” However, Fry says that he had to vow to keep that reason a secret, and will take it with him to the grave. 

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Gangnam style was recently the cause of a gang shootout!

You've probably given the video one of its 240 gazillion views. The song by South Korean popstar Psy has taken the world by storm. It's also apparently being used as an excuse for gun violence.

The Guardian is reporting that two different gangs were dining at the same restaurant when a dance-off between two members of opposing gangs broke out with one gang member using the Psy dance as a way to provoke the other. That was apparently effective, because a gun battle ensued. Reports say that up to 50 rounds were shot from a 11mm-guns and carbines. Thankfully no one was hurt.

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Due to fear of cancellation, the producers of Scrubs created an "emergency" ending in which the janitor was a figment of JD’s imagination.

Remember a few months ago when we told you that Scrubs was the most realistic medical series on TV? Well, the show’s original ending may have made that fact even harder to believe! Throughout the first season, the cast and crew (especially writer/creator Bill Lawrence) were almost sure that the show would be cancelled by the end of the season. So, the producers created an emergency plot twist that they could use when they’d have a forced series finale. 

Now, in season 1, the Janitor (Neil Flynn’s character) never directly spoke or was spoken to by any characters other than JD (Zach Braff’s character). Therefore, the idea was that the janitor would have been revealed to be a figment of JD’s imagination. This idea was kept into the second season until Flynn asked Lawrence if his character could finally interact with another characters in the series. There were however, a few glitches with the alternate ending. For one thing, in the 6th episode, Elliot throws a cup at the Janitor and says “Sorry!” and in the 11th episode, he gets punched on the balls by a little girl. 

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The myth that the Great Wall of China can be seen from space originated in 1754.

And despite the fact that space travel wasn’t even considered a possibility yet, everyone believed the myth. But then again, it isn’t too hard to believe if you don’t think about it too much; the Great Wall of China is an overwhelmingly large structure that doesn’t have a lot of problems standing out from the surrounding greenery. 

It is 21,196 km long, and has been around since 7th century BC. The myth that the Wall’s magnificence can be seen from outer space is thought to have been created by the English antiquary William Stukekey in 1754. In a letter, Stuckeley wrote that, “This mightly wall of four score miles (Hadrian’s Wall) is only exceeded by the Chinese Wall, which makes a considerable figure upon the terrestrial globe and may be discerned at the moon.” 

Through the years, many innocent fun-fact enthusiasts have uttered this myth with confidence. In fact, it even appeared in a 1932 Ripley’s Believe it or Not Strip. However, actual space exploration has confirmed that outer space isn’t the place to go if you want to see the Great Wall (my apologies to all the disappointed astronauts and aliens).

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A small part of Milwaukee, WI considers itself to be an independent nation.

Talossa, or rather, “The Kingdom of Talossa” is the name of the oldest existing micro-nation, founded by 14-year-old Robert Ben Madison in 1979. Apparently, it seceded peacefully from the United States (someone should probably tell the United States), and is located on the western shore of La Mar Talossan (the Talossan term for ‘Lake Michigan’). 

Talossa is a constitutional monarchy headed by an apolitical King and governed by a democratically elected Government. It has its own language, political parties, registered Coat of Arms, and official website! According to the site, total membership (citizens are called “members”) of the nation reached between 100-200 people at its peak. To learn more about this free-spirited and quirky place, visit the source! 

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