this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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"The spaceships hung in the air, in much the same ways that bricks don't" - Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy
I use this quote a lot when doing D&D Campaign prepping. It's a fantastic example of a non-sensical sentence that somehow completely explains the subject
I often think of this one as well.
It parses fine really, there is a (possibly empty) set of things that float in the air, and the spaceship is one of them, but bricks are not. It's not nonsensical, it's just a creative twist on a common idiom ("in much the same way a brick does") that's so unexpected it seems silly.
I also think of the later books where Arthur perfects the art of falling and missing the ground sometimes.
I love Douglas Adams
Some of my favourite Douglas Adams ones:
Tagging on, since my favorite quote is also from Douglas Adams:
It's stuck with me as a perspective I have. It's up to you to make things happen the way you want them to, and certain things shouldn't be taken for granted.