You didn’t think we could let the 40th anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy pass without at least a little comment, did you? Fortunately, Nature does a much better job of summarizing its (and Douglas Adams’) impact on society than I could.
Feel free to comment on how H2G2 has influenced your life.
I’m not certain how HHG might have influenced my life, but I encountered it, first as the low-budget TV series, in high school, and it really spoke to my sense of the world’s absurdity. I quickly got ahold of the radio show and the first books– the later volumes didn’t appeal to me as much. I can still appreciate its blend of SF, satire, philosophy, and silliness.