Hitchhikers
Register
m (infobox updated)
Tag: Visual edit
Tag: Visual edit
(9 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Quote|Mostly Harmless|[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (travel guide)|The Guide's]] description of Earth|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (book)}}{{Infobox Location|aka = Sol III|image = [[Image:Earth.jpg]]|location = [[Sol]]/Solar System, [[Milky Way]], [[Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha]], [[Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy]]|status = Destroyed|creators = *[[Magratheans]]
+
{{Quote|Mostly Harmless|[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (travel guide)|The Guide's]] description of Earth|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (book)}}{{Infobox Location|aka = Sol III|image = [[Image:Earth_mark1_movie.png]]|location = Solar System, [[Milky Way]], [[Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha]], [[Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy]]|status = *Destroyed (Earth Mark 1)
  +
*Active (Earth Mark 2)|creators = *[[Magratheans]]
 
*[[Mice]]|natives = *[[Dolphins]]
 
*[[Mice]]|natives = *[[Dolphins]]
 
*[[Humans]]
 
*[[Humans]]
Line 5: Line 6:
 
*[[Arthur Dent's brother]] †
 
*[[Arthur Dent's brother]] †
 
*[[Arthur Philip Deodat]] †
 
*[[Arthur Philip Deodat]] †
*[[Barman of the Horse and Groom]] †
+
*[[Barman]] †
 
*[[Elvis]] (formerly)
 
*[[Elvis]] (formerly)
 
*[[Fenchurch]] (formerly)
 
*[[Fenchurch]] (formerly)
Line 11: Line 12:
 
*[[Golgafrinchans]]
 
*[[Golgafrinchans]]
 
*[[Lady Cynthia Fitzmelton]] †
 
*[[Lady Cynthia Fitzmelton]] †
*[[Mr. Prosser]] †
+
*[[Mr Prosser]] †
 
*[[Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings]] †
 
*[[Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings]] †
 
*[[Russell]]
 
*[[Russell]]
Line 18: Line 19:
 
*[[Slartibartfast]]
 
*[[Slartibartfast]]
 
*[[Vogons]]
 
*[[Vogons]]
*[[Zaphod Beeblebrox]]|moons = The Moon|features = *[[Lord's Cricket Ground]]|appearance = ''[[Fit the First]]''}}'''Earth''', also known as '''Sol III''', was a giant supercomputer designed to find the [[Ultimate Question]] of Life, the Universe and Everything. Designed by [[Deep Thought]] and built by the [[Magratheans]], it was commonly mistaken for a planet, especially by the [[humans|ape descendants]] who lived on it. It was situated far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the [[Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy]].
+
*[[Zaphod Beeblebrox]]|moons = The Moon|features = *[[Lord's Cricket Ground]]|appearance = ''[[Fit the First]]''}}'''Earth''' was a giant supercomputer designed to find the [[Ultimate Question]] of Life, the Universe and Everything. Designed by [[Deep Thought]] and built by the [[Magratheans]], it was commonly mistaken for a planet, especially by the [[humans|ape descendants]] who lived on it. It was situated far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the [[Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy]].
   
 
Unfortunately, the Earth was destroyed by the [[Vogon]]s five minutes before the program was to be completed. The Vogons were sent by the psychiatrist [[Gag Halfrunt]], who thought his profession would cease if the Question were known. Later on, the Earth reappeared but all forms of the Earth were later demolished.
 
Unfortunately, the Earth was destroyed by the [[Vogon]]s five minutes before the program was to be completed. The Vogons were sent by the psychiatrist [[Gag Halfrunt]], who thought his profession would cease if the Question were known. Later on, the Earth reappeared but all forms of the Earth were later demolished.
Line 40: Line 41:
 
The [[Golgafrinchan]] Ark Fleet Ship B crash-landed on Earth, leaving [[Arthur Dent]] and [[Ford Prefect]] stranded in time.
 
The [[Golgafrinchan]] Ark Fleet Ship B crash-landed on Earth, leaving [[Arthur Dent]] and [[Ford Prefect]] stranded in time.
 
===Destruction===
 
===Destruction===
The psychiatrist [[Gag Halfrunt]] thought that his career would cease if the Question were known. Therefore he got the [[Vogons]] to destroy the supercomputer, with the apparent excuse of building a [[hyperspace]] [[bypass]]. The Vogons destroyed the Earth five minutes before the Question was due to be announced, thereby destroyed ten million years of work.<ref>As told to [[Arthur Dent]] by [[Slartibartfast]], in chapter 30 of the [[Douglas Adams]] novel [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (book)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]].</ref>
+
The psychiatrist [[Gag Halfrunt]] thought that his career would cease if the Question were known. Therefore he got the [[Vogons]] to destroy the supercomputer, with the apparent excuse of building a [[hyperspace]] [[bypass]]. The Vogons destroyed the Earth five minutes before the Question was due to be announced, thereby destroying ten million years worth of work.<ref>As told to [[Arthur Dent]] by [[Slartibartfast]], in chapter 30 of the [[Douglas Adams]] novel [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (book)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]].</ref>
 
==Appearances==
 
==Appearances==
 
Earth appeared in:
 
Earth appeared in:
Line 51: Line 52:
 
*The 2005 [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|film]]
 
*The 2005 [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|film]]
 
*The [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (video game)|computer game]].
 
*The [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (video game)|computer game]].
  +
  +
== Trivia ==
  +
* By the time of its destruction, Earth was 10 million years old. In the TV series however, [[the Guide]] states the scientifically-accepted age of 4.5 billion years.<ref>Episode 1. 1981 TV series.</ref> This might not be a mistake by the filmers though, as [[Slartibartfast]] states that Earth was designed to appear older than it really was. It is possible then that the fake geological history misled both [[human]] scientists and the editors of [[the Guide]].
   
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==

Revision as of 06:47, 10 September 2020

Mostly Harmless
The Guide's description of Earth[src]

Earth was a giant supercomputer designed to find the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. Designed by Deep Thought and built by the Magratheans, it was commonly mistaken for a planet, especially by the ape descendants who lived on it. It was situated far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy.

Unfortunately, the Earth was destroyed by the Vogons five minutes before the program was to be completed. The Vogons were sent by the psychiatrist Gag Halfrunt, who thought his profession would cease if the Question were known. Later on, the Earth reappeared but all forms of the Earth were later demolished.

The only two humans to survive the Earth's destruction were Arthur Dent and Trillian.[1]

Lifeforms

Earth was mainly populated by "ape-descended life forms" or Humans, which number around 6.5 billion at the time of the earth's destruction. The earth is also inhabited by a series of flora and fauna, including the mice and dolphins, the most and second most intelligent species on the supercomputer respectively, with humans being the third.

Humans do not realize they are only the third most intelligent and are among the most ignorant and technologically backward people in the universe.

History

Origins

A computer of such infinite and subtle complexity that organic life itself shall form part of its operational matrix.
—Deep Thought on the Earth.[src]

When the supercomputer Deep Thought announced the Ultimate Answer as Forty-Two after seven and a half million years of thought, it challenged Phouchg and Loonquawl to say what the Ultimate Question actually was. When they could not, Deep Thought designed a supercomputer that could give the Question, giving it its future name of the Earth.

The Magratheans were then hired to build the Earth, using a method of sucking matter through white holes to construct the vast planet-like computer. Slartibartfast designed the fjords of Norway, for which he won an award.

Prehistoric times

Golgafrincham Ark B

Golgafrincham Ark Fleet, Ship B, as seen in the 1981 TV series.

The Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B crash-landed on Earth, leaving Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect stranded in time.

Destruction

The psychiatrist Gag Halfrunt thought that his career would cease if the Question were known. Therefore he got the Vogons to destroy the supercomputer, with the apparent excuse of building a hyperspace bypass. The Vogons destroyed the Earth five minutes before the Question was due to be announced, thereby destroying ten million years worth of work.[2]

Appearances

Earth appeared in:

Trivia

  • By the time of its destruction, Earth was 10 million years old. In the TV series however, the Guide states the scientifically-accepted age of 4.5 billion years.[3] This might not be a mistake by the filmers though, as Slartibartfast states that Earth was designed to appear older than it really was. It is possible then that the fake geological history misled both human scientists and the editors of the Guide.

Notes

  1. Elvis was revealed to be singing at The Domain of The King, though he may not have been human to begin with.
  2. As told to Arthur Dent by Slartibartfast, in chapter 30 of the Douglas Adams novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
  3. Episode 1. 1981 TV series.