Towel Day
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Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a
tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
to the author
Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...
by his fans. On this day, fans openly carry a
towel A towel is a piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for drying or wiping a surface. Towels draw moisture through direct contact. In households, several types of towels are used, such as hand towels, bath towels, and kitchen towels. Paper towels ...
with them, as described in Adams' ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...
'', to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author. The commemoration was first held 25 May 2001, two weeks after Adams' death on 11 May.


Origin

The importance of the towel was introduced in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' original radio series in 1978. The follow-up book explained the importance of towels in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' universe in Chapter 3, using much of the same wording as the original radio series: The original article that began Towel Day was posted by a user "Clyde" (probably D. Clyde Williamson) at "System Toolbox", a short-lived open source forum. Chris Campbell and his friends registered the
domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...
br>towelday.org
to promote the day, reminding people to bring their towels. Towel Day was an immediate success among fans and many people sent in pictures of themselves with their towels.


Recognition

Several news sources around the world have mentioned Towel Day, including the Norwegian newspaper ''
Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 milli ...
'' and the television news show '' NRK Nyheter'', and
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. In May 2010, an
online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
was created asking Google to recognize Towel Day with either a
Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...
or by returning search results in the
Vogon The Vogons are a fictional alien race from the planet Vogsphere in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''—initially a BBC Radio series by Douglas Adams—who are responsible for the destruction of the Earth, in order to facilitate an interga ...
language for a day. As of 10 September 2014, the petition had received 5,373 signatures; however, the petition website is now defunct.


2010

In Canada, ''
Volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defin ...
'', a French/English television show, created a skit in which Towel Day was explained and featured. In
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, Radio City, a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
affiliated radio station, interviewed one of the organizers of Towel Day in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
to introduce their listeners to Towel Day. The interview was in Spanish and English.


2011

In the United Kingdom, Planet Rock aired an "Alternative Thought Of The Day" by David Haddock about Towel Day and Siren FM broadcast "Dean Wilkinson & the Importance of International Towel Day".


2012

In January 2012, ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' listed Towel Day as one of ten cult literary traditions.


2013

In recognition of Towel Day, the Norwegian
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
company Kolumbus gave away a limited number of special towels to customers. Each towel contained an RFID chip that allows a free ride on their buses and boats. In
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, the
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
branch of the
District of Columbia Public Library The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) is the public library system for the District of Columbia, in the United States. The system includes 26 individual libraries including Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (the DCPL's central libr ...
offered prizes for those who wore a towel to the library on Towel Day.


2015

On Towel Day 2015, Italian astronaut
Samantha Cristoforetti Samantha Cristoforetti, OMRI (; born in Milan on 26 April 1977) is an Italian European Space Agency astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight by a European astronaut ( ...
sent a "Towel Day greeting" and read aloud a sample from ''The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy'' from the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
.


2016

Towel Day was celebrated by Briton
Tim Peake Major Timothy Nigel Peake (born 7 April 1972) is a British Army Air Corps officer, European Space Agency astronaut and a former International Space Station (ISS) crew member. He is the first British ESA astronaut, the second astronaut to b ...
on the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
. As Towel Day 2016 fell during the RIPE 72 meeting, the
RIPE NCC RIPE NCC (''Réseaux IP Européens'' Network Coordination Centre) is the regional Internet registry (RIR) for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with a branch office in Dubai, UAE. ...
distributed a beach towel printed with an IPv6 subnet chart (from their training materials).


2018

The first SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch used a Tesla Roadster as a test payload, emblazoned with the words DON'T PANIC! are shown. This is a reference to the cover of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', which features the same words. In the glove compartment of the car was a copy of the book and a towel, also an item from the novel.


2019

In the year 2019, Towel Day was celebrated by Don't Panic Labs in Nebraska, U.S., by organizing a donation drive called the "Towel Day Drive" where people were asked to donate new or extremely gently used Towels to the "People's City Mission." Many people also donated money to buy towels.


See also

* Geek Pride Day, celebrated on the same date * The Glorious 25th Of May from the works of Sir Terry Pratchett.


References


External links


Towel Day - Celebrating the life and work of Douglas Adams

Towel Day
on
h2g2 The h2g2 website is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project. It describes itself as "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication '' The Hitchhiker's Guide to ...

Fan proposing the idea of making Towel Day an annual event
on
h2g2 The h2g2 website is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project. It describes itself as "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication '' The Hitchhiker's Guide to ...

Television Skit for Towel Day (French/English)

Interview by Radio City Ecuador for Towel Day 2010 (Spanish/English)
{{HitchhikerMiscellanea The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Science fiction fandom Radio fandom Literary fandom Unofficial observances May observances Recurring events established in 2001 Discordian holidays es:Douglas Adams#El día de la toalla