Don't Panic! It's Towel Day

May 25th is not only Memorial Day this year, but also Towel Day; a day set aside to honor the work of the late author Douglas Adams, writer of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. You might remember from the books or movies that the most important thing any traveler can have with him is his towel.

Case in point: My dad was minding his own business in the shower, when a fire started in the fuse box at his apartment last May. He had no choice but to run stark-naked out of the shower and find his way out of the apartment, which was already filled with smoke and flames. He had nothing but his towel to open the hot doorknobs and shield his face from smoke. Headlines would later read 'Man Jumps Out of Shower to Flee Fire". Dad's 15 minutes of flaming naked fame.

We found Dad at the hospital, where they were treating him for smoke inhalation, and with skin grafts for the flesh that had been peeled from his fingers and scalp during his escape. Dad sat in his bed at the hospital clutching his ash-stained towel as he told us what happened. The entire building burnt down, and everything inside was turned into charcoal. He was left without a stitch of clothing, everything was gone.

Now homeless, he smiled and just said, "But I've got my towel...and that's the most important thing."

True story, a towel was his only possession and he was glad to have it. If that man can see the humor in such a devastating situation, then maybe there really is something to this whole towel thing. Join the rest of the nerds on planet Earth tomorrow, and carry a towel on your shoulder. Use these number stencils to emblazon '42' on a towel of your choice, and sling it over your shoulder for the day.

• Number Stencils for your '42' Towel
• How to Spraypaint Fabric

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