May-25 is Towel Day: Here's the reason to celebrate it
The world would celebrate "Towel Day" tomorrow as a tribute to author Douglas Adams by his fans. On this day, fans openly carry a towel with them, as described in Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" to demonstrate their appreciation for his books and the author. The commemoration was first held on 25 May 2001, two weeks after Adams's death on 11 May.
Towel Day is slowly gathering ground in India too
In India too, Towel Day is slowly gathering ground. Mumbai-based lounge Bartales is hosting an interactive session, inviting people to wear a towel like a cape and share stories about the day they stood up for a cause like a "superhero". Compassion and standing up for other human beings is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything, Bartales said.
Pubs offer free drinks to those who appear with towels
Across the world, the day is marked with pictures posted by people of their towels with #TowelDay on social media. Some rabid fans go to work with their towels, host parties, and serve drinks described in the Hitchhiker series. This year a number of pubs across Europe have promised to offer free drinks to those who appear with towels on May 25.
Where did idea of paying tribute through towel come from?
The idea of paying tribute to Adams with towels stems from a section where he explains its importance to interstellar travelers. "What the strag (non-hitchhiker) will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with," he wrote.
Fans celebrates Towel Day in creative ways
Fans celebrate the day in ways almost as imaginative as work of Adams. In 2015, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti marked the Day aboard the International Space Station. Numerous pubs and cafes in US, Brazil, and other countries offer to serve the Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters and Janx Spirit, drinks that Adams held up as among the many favorites across the galaxy.
"Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy" started as radio series in 1978
"Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" started off as a radio series in 1978. Following its popularity, the series was adapted into novels and TVseries. In a foreword dated 2002, American author Neil Gaiman wrote, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy sequence used the tropes of science fiction to talk about things that concerned Douglas, the world he observed, his thoughts on Life, Universe, and Everything."
