On this day… 12th October 1979 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and a “trilogy” of five books published between 1979 and 1992, a sixth novel penned by Eoin Colfer in 2009.
On Writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide
Adams was a notorious deadline-buster. He was famously quoted as saying, “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by.” As he was polishing The Hitchhiker’s Guide, his publishers called 
Adams and demanded he finish the page he was writing. To ensure he didn’t hear the deadline’s whoosh, the publishing house immediately sent a bicycle courier to pick up the manuscript.
When writing the fourth book in the Hitchhiker “trilogy,” So Long and Thanks For All the Fish, Adams was locked in a hotel suite for three weeks with his editor (and girlfriend) to ensure the book got written in a timely fashion.
Did You Know?..
The Spelling of Hitchhiker varied – a lot!
The spelling of “Hitchhiker” was wildly inconsistent through the series’ publication run – from “Hitch Hiker” to “Hitch-hiker” – until Adams announced in 2000 that “Hitchhiker” one word, sans punctuation, was the definitive spelling.
I just love the Did You Know part in all your posts! What a great job you are doing! A+ for consistency and perseverance!
Thanks Elena. It’s amazing how many quirky little facts I have found I think I might do a summary at the end of the year of Random Facts – Lol. It’s so nice to have you back on WP. I love your ideas for the home so beautiful and creative!