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THE 42 INDEX

Public index · Astronomy

Towel Day

4h20m

Measured

First Towel Day, 25 May 2001. Saturn, Moon and Sun each print 4°20′. First to last: 4 hours 20 minutes.

On the first Towel Day, Saturn crossed 4°20′ Gemini at 07:33 UT, the Moon 4°20′ Cancer at 10:03, the Sun 4°20′ Gemini at 11:53. First to last is 4 hours 20 minutes. Fans picked the date as a wake, two weeks after Adams died. Their FAQ said it had no special meaning. The clocks were read later.

A used towel on a brass peg in a dark study, a clock on the wall. Interpretive plate, not a photograph of the sky.
Interpretive plate. The sky is in the clocks. The towel is the wake.
  1. 07:33 UTSaturn 4°20′ Gemini
  2. 10:03 UTMoon 4°20′ Cancer
  3. 11:53 UTSun 4°20′ Gemini

First to last · 4 hours 20 minutes

Three crossings of 4°20′ on one civil day. Saturn, then Moon, then Sun. The fans chose 25 May as a wake, two weeks after Douglas Adams died. Their own FAQ said the date had no special meaning. The interval was measured later, on Astro-Seek particular-degree returns, taken as UT.

No prior published account located as of 8 September 2026. The date belonged to 42 before anyone checked the sky.

CIPHER · reverse ordinal

TOWEL DAY

A = 26

  1. T7
  2. O12
  3. W4
  4. E22
  5. L15
  6. D23
  7. A26
  8. Y2

111

Don’t Panic, Humanity. Reverse ordinal 111. Humanity is 111 on another face.
  • Historical factFirst Towel Day. Adams born 11 March 1952, died 11 May 2001. Fourteen days to the wake.
  • Astronomical measurement07:33 Saturn · 10:03 Moon · 11:53 Sun. Interval 4h20m. Tropical 4°20′.
  • Personal chronologyBirth 11 October 1978. Moon at 4°20′ Cancer 11 October 1979. Book published 12 October 1979. One year and one day. Memoir, not the public clock.
  • Related · the pilot28 June 1977. Hitchhiker radio pilot produced. Elon Musk’s birthday. 69 days after 4/20. Mercury at 4°20′ Cancer that day. Three true things. Not a landing clock.
  • Observed correspondenceA wake date and a measured interval sit on the same day. Relation noticed afterward.
  • InterpretationLeft open. The looking is the work.

What it supports

Three Astro-Seek particular-degree returns on 25 May 2001, taken as UT. Historical Towel Day: WIRED; Binary Freedom FAQ, 2001. Adams born 11 March 1952, died 11 May 2001. Fourteen days. Original observation of the Index as of 8 September 2026: no prior published account of the 4h20m interval located. Search is not a proof of uniqueness forever.

What it does not

Not proof the fans encoded 4°20′. They declined 42 days after the death because the enthusiasm would fade. Not Adams writing the sky. Not identity with TOWEL = 24. Cipher is a different face.

Calculation

11:53 − 07:33 = 4h20m. Three tropical 4°20′ returns on one civil day.

Astro-Seek particular-degree returns, times as printed, taken as UT.

Discovery order

Towel Day first, as a wake. The three 4°20′ prints and the 4h20m interval noticed later. Original observation of THE 42 INDEX, 8 September 2026.

ExactnessExact

Form4°20′

Unithours

Strengthattested

When2001-05-25

Source

Astro-Seek · Saturn 4°20′ Gemini · 25 May 2001 07:33

Owner

THE 42 INDEX