42

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42 is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. The answer was first discovered by the computer Deep Thought after seven and a half million years of calculation. Although the answer has been found, no-one really knows the question; this was the purpose of the Earth, a computer designed to calculate the answer that was unfortunately destroyed by the Vogons shortly before it's ten million year program was due to be completed.

[edit] The question

One of the only two humans surviving the destruction of Earth, Arthur Dent, pulled random Scrabble tiles from a bag. When his friend, Ford Prefect, lined up the tiles, they spelled: "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?"

This is often assumed to be the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. However, it is stated earlier that the "program" was corrupted when the B ark arrived to Earth. This is also the reason for the termination of Earth, and the planned reset.

[edit] Inspiration for number

There are quite a lot of numbers to choose from, so why did Douglas Adams choose 42? Basically he wanted a small, ordinary, innocuous number and he picked 42. This message from Adams explains his choice.