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42

Ranked #9,218 in Education, #197,684 overall

Written by the world's foremost authority on the number 42, this lense is a beginner's introduction into the grand and amazing world of the number 42. Step right in and prepare yourself to be amazed.

At the bottom of every entry, you will find an action item. Don't just read about 42, be an agent of change. Follow these links for glory and destiny (not to mention a rip roaring good time)!

URGENT PETITION TO OUR FANS: It is only natural for a lense devoted to the number 42 to reach rank 42 on Squidoo. It is our rightful place and the natural order of things in the universe! HOWEVER, our god-given spot is being held by an evil usurper! We need your help to reclaim our birthright. RATE THIS LENSE TO HELP RESTORE ORDER AND BALANCE TO THE UNIVERSE!

Incidentally, do you know any interesting 42s that we have missed? Drop us a line. We'll include your entry and give you appropriate credit as well as 42 thanks.

COMING SOON: Petition Congress to Declare February 11th a National Holiday

Being the 42nd day of the year, it is only just and fitting that February 11th be declared a national holiday, especially if it happens to fall on a Monday.

Hence, it is our intention to call upon the public to petition Congress to declare February 11th a national holiday, to be known as "42nd Day".

We are in the process of drafting this momentous petition and will seek your help in pursuing our just cause!

42... The Meaning of Life, the Universe & Everything

Yes, yes, I know everyone knows this, but all the same, 42 is the answer to the question: "life, the universe & everything", in the world famous and hilarious Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams (not to be confused with the horrible movie by the same name).

If for some strange reason you have not read this fantastic series of books, don't waste your time reading this stupid lense, go buy the books and do some reading!

For more about the Hitchhiker's Guide series visit the radio series' page on the BBC website; for a lot of fun details, check out this comprehensive entry on Wikipedia.

Think you know 42? Give this flash game a try...

To sign a petition to nominate Douglas Adams for the Nobel Prize in Literature, or the Pulitzer prize, or preferably both, click here. Seriously.

The Hitchhiker's Guide Series: the Origin of the 42 Myth

The complete (almost) Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series of books

42 & Wolfram / Alpha

This is what Wolfram/Alpha as to say about 42...

Level 42: the Ultimate 80's Band

Yes, I am that old. I actually bought the original "Running in the Family Album"... way back when.

If you really want to know more about this corny, but awesome band, try the group's . Just don't expect all the links on the website to actually work (the lyrics for example). Hey, it's an 80's band!

It is amazing but Wikipedia has a very detailed entry on Level 42, including a list of all the albums and singles. Is there anything that they don't have an entry on?

Actually, the name of the band was supposedly inspired by the Hitchhiker's Guide series of books. Supposedly.

To sign a petition to nominate Level 42 for a Grammy, click here.

Music from Level 42

If you simply loved the above clip (and you know you did), check out these great albums by Level 42. We guarantee you will grow a mullet, find yourself wearing aweful makeup and swearing Reaganomics actually works. In short... welcome back to the 80s...

M42: The Orion Nebula

The Orion Nebula, or M42, is one of the most spectacular sights in the night sky. It is one of the few objects in the night sky for which you can perceive color using a small telescope (purpulish or magenta).

The Nebula is visible to the naked eye but is best observed with binoculars or a small telescope. Orion is most easily visible in the Northern Hemisphere winter, early in the evening.

For help on finding Orion in the sky, go to this excellent Wikipedia article - it includes pictures and a star map. For more detailed information about the Orion Nebula, click here.

To vote the Orion Nebula, the bestest celestial object ever, click here.

See the Orion Nebula for Yourself

Add an important 42 to your collection

42nd President: William Jefferson Clinton

Well, you might not agree with his politics, but you gotta agree The Bill had some flare!

What can you say about The Bill? Besides the fact that he likes his cigars, that is... This is what the White House has to say about him.
After leaving office, besides writing his biography, The Bill has been involved in some charity work, such as the Tsunami relief efforts and the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. This is a link to the Clinton Foundation.

And of course, there is the obligatory presidential library... what is it with presidents and libraries anyways? What, a theater, a museum or a hospital won't do? They each gotta have a library? Yup.

Note: we just noted that the CLINTON FOUNDATION sometimes advertises on this humble lens. Yeah. How crazy is that?! If you are one of the fortunate few that sees a Google ad by this esteemed organization, click it. You know you have nothing better to do...

To petition congress to amend the consititution to allow The Bill to run for a third, fourth and fifth term in office, click here. Don't be a wuss. Do it, I said!

Momentos of William the 42nd...

Annapurna III: The 42nd Highest Peak

Towering to a proud 7,555 m (24,786 ft.) Annapurna III is the 42nd highest mountain in the world. It was first climbed in 1961 by an Indian expedition led by Mohan Kohli, via the Northeast Face.

In case you are wondering Annapurna is a series of peaks in the Himalaya, the highest of which (Annapurna I) is 8,091m (26,545 ft.)

If all this talk of mountains has you wanting to climbs things, try climbing this.

If you are gonna go mountaineering, might as well....

...load up on some crucial mountaineering supplies.

Atomic Weight 42: Molybdenum

Yes, yes, I know that this is probably more than you wanted to know... but what are you gonna do?

Molybdenum just happens to be the 42 element. I never heard about it before today, but apparently, according to the smart guys, this element is essential for plant nutrition, is used as a high temperature lubricant, and as a component in ultra-high-stength steel.

Here is what the smart folks at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have to say about the stuff...and of course, how could we forget the immortal website: molybdenum.com. Apparently they buy Molybdenum scrap. It's my lucky day, let me go dig through my closet real quick.

Whadoyouknow... you learn something new everyday. Although most days you hope the things you learn are slightly more... hmmm... interesting.

Click here if you think Molybdenum should be immediately and retroactively removed from the Periodic Table!

42 on TV

One of the hottest shows on TV these days is ABC's LOST, and as you would expect from a show of this caliber, the number 42 is of special significance to the story...

In the show, there is a set of numbers that keeps appearing over and over: "4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42". The show's creators have not yet revealed to us little people the meaning of this number set, and personally I think that when they do it's going to be a major let-down.

BUT... in the meantime, 42 is getting its well deserved place on prime time television.

To donate some cash to the poor, underpaid cast of LOST, click here.

42 gifts from a desert island

One Liberty Place, Philadelphia: 42nd Tallest Building

At least according to Wikipedia, One Liberty Place in Philadelphia is the 42nd tallest building in the world (for now). Standing at a proud 945 ft (288 m) and boasting 61 floors the tower was completed in 1987.

You may also be interested to know that it looks like there is some space available for rent on the 42nd floor of the building. Move fast!!!

Incidentally, the 42nd tallest building in the US is the Woolworth Building in NY city topping at 792 feet (241 meters). It was completed in 1913.

This website claims that the Woolworth Building does not have a designated 42nd floor... If that is indeed the case, the Woolworth Building is a sad place indeed...

42: The Number of Gallons in a Barrel of Oil

Believe it or not, there are exactly 42 US Gallons in one barrel of oil (measured at 60 degrees F). At today's prices, that will set you back about... an arm and a leg.

The US uses about 20M of those barrels per day. That's a LOT of 42.

According to testimony before the Senate by David Hawkings of the Natural Resources Defense Council in April 2006:

"...our system of refining crude oil to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other transportation fuels, results in a total "well to wheels" emission rate of about 27.5 pounds of CO2 per gallon of fuel..."

That's a lot of CO2.

Those readers who still believe that global warming is a liberal conspiracy, might want to check out this well researched web site.

How to Use Fewer 42s...

#42 Jackie Robinson: Baseball Hall of Fame

In 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. It's almost needless to say that this exceptionally successful player proudly wore the number 42.

In fact, Robinson was so successful that not only was he elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962, but his number, 42, was retired by all Major League Baseball teams. Talk about spectacular 42.

For a brief but excellent biography of Robinson, visit this Wikipedia entry.

To learn how they play baseball in India, click here.

42 salutations and thanks to our reader Matt Scheidler for suggesting this excellent entry. Check out Matt's lense here

#42 Jackie Robinson on eBay

Who is 42? July 2006

Barry Bonds turns lucky 42 on July 24. For his birthday he probably wishes a certain steroid scandal goes away.

Also turning 42 is the pretty (but somewhat... errrr... less than spectacular) actress Sandra Bullock. Speed was probably the last good movie she's made...

Finally, Jim Corr of The Corrs will turn 42 on July 31. If you haven't heard of The Corrs they are an excellent Irish music band, who also happen to be a brother and three sisters. Personally I prefer the earlier, less commercial albums.

Famous Works by Famous 42s...

True 42...Ozurget'i, Republic of Georgia

Ozurget'i, Georgia is located at the Center of the World: latitude 42, longitude 42 (or close enough there to - what's a few arc seconds between friends?)

Ozurget'i is the regional capital of the Western Georgian province of Guria. Believe it or not, but only 21,009 people have chosen to live in the Center of the World. Others, inexplicably, choose to live in such remote locations as San Francisco.

For a map of the Center of the World click here.

If you think that watching paint dry would be a more productive and educational use of your time, click here.

42 Snippets

In this section we will give honorable mention to some excellent 42s that did not quite make the cut (the lense is waaaay long as it is).

If you know of any cool ones, drop us a line...

This is a really cool one. A 42 string guitar. I haven't quite figured out how one would actually play it, but apprantly it's real...
Lowe's #42 on the 2006 Fortune 500 list. Makes you wanna buy some tiles...
Washington is the 42nd state to join the US. This fascinating development took place on November 11, 1889.
Superball XLII (that's 42, duh!) will be held on Feb 3, 2008, in Glendale, AZ. Unfortunately, the NFL missed a great opportunity to hold Superball 42 on Feb 11 (42nd day of the year). Of course, Feb 11, 2008 is a Monday... which would have made things a little... slow... around the country, but what are you gonna do?
A modern Marathon is 42 kilometers and 195 meters long. I am sure that you are DYING to know that Will Boylan-Pett of NY finished #42 in the 2005 New-York City Marathon with a time of 2 hours and 32 minutes... your life was not complete until this very moment...

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Funny Websites: A list of funny, funny websites. Be sure to check out Monty Python's silly walks generator...

Visitor Comments, Ideas and Suggestions

Especially welcome: ideas for new 42s, suggestions on how to improve this lense, high praise and compliments

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pramodbisht Jun 24, 2011 @ 2:18 pm | delete

Here Comes your 42 squidoo like. enjoy.

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benm Mar 7, 2011 @ 7:11 pm | delete

42 minutes is how long it would take to get to the other side of the earth if you fell due to gravity through a tunnel through the core.

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howdoyouspellstupid Oct 19, 2010 @ 4:07 pm | delete

Awesome!! 42 is the greatest number ;)
I'm Level 42 right now on Squidoo!! Coincidence? Hmmmm....

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Gerry Matheson Aug 23, 2010 @ 5:00 pm | delete

Tenth day of October, 2010 is approaching an auspicious day
occasion for extra ordinary events

10/10/10
101010 binary -> 42

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FemmeSpeak! Aug 8, 2010 @ 9:45 pm | delete

So I started watching the videos on www.Ted.com last night. I am watching four each night and calculated that it will be February 11th when I have seen all of the videos (f course they keep adding them...so it will probably take me longer)...but the point here is that it brought me to this site...and now I know that an object falling through the planet would take 42 minutes...and my life is fuller for knowing that...although I am not sure why.

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sword42 Nov 22, 2009 @ 1:13 am | delete

I am amazed to find a lens that is about the number 42.Of couse i am also delighted to have found it by accident (OR WAS IT ) Anyway i pesonally found it very informative and quite fasinating,but then i would of course...Brilliant...sword42

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Oct 28, 2009 @ 4:36 pm | delete

great lens :) gotta love how easy an answer it is to the question: what is the meaning of life?

42!

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markjcarter Jul 8, 2009 @ 12:09 am | delete

Trippy stuff... too bad I didnt read this a year ago... just turned 43... drat

mj
Free Annual Credit Report

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California_Dreamin Jul 3, 2009 @ 12:18 pm | delete

Lewis Carroll was fascinated by the number 42. The number comes up in most of his works including Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland and his last novel, Silvie and Bruno Concluded, in which he describes a train that uses gravity as its energy source. The train runs through a perfectly straight tunnel from one town to another. Since the middle of the tunnel is necessarily nearer the earth's center than its ends, the train runs downhill to the center, gathering enough momentum to carry it up the other half of the tunnel. Such a train would make the trip in exactly the same time it would take an object to fall to the center of the earth--a little more than 42 minutes. This time is constant regardless of the tunnel's length.

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kam Feb 15, 2009 @ 4:01 pm | delete

the number 42 is significant in my life in many ways but I was not aware of it's significance worldwide. This is how I became aware of it: Look at these:
David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Dimitar Berbatov, David Bentley, Darren Bent, David Bailey,Derren Brown, Dogs Bollocks, Deutche Bank- what do you notice..... all DB, the 4th letter and the 2nd letter of the alphabet.
This is a special number.
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