Okay, I’ll admit it. I am an avid reader and fan of fantasy and science fiction.
This is what makes May 25th such a challenge: celebrate Towel Day or Wear the Lilac?
Towel Day
Towel Day first began in 2001, two weeks following the death of beloved author Douglas Adams, who had this to say about towels in his book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
Originally intended as a tribute to Douglas Adams, 9 years later Towel Day offers an incredible array of events ranging from collecting new towels for the homeless to Vogon poetry slams. ThinkGeek has even gotten into the fun by offering a new t-shirt with text reading “Don’t Panic & Carry a Towel” (in large friendly letters, of course). Please visit towelday.org for more information.
Wear the Lilac
In Terry Pratchett’s Night Watch (one of my favorites), several characters Wear the Lilac on May 25th in remembrance of the Glorious Revolution of Treacle Mine Road. Given Pratchett’s diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s in 2007, fans now Wear the Lilac both in celebration of Pratchett and to raise awareness and funding for Alzheimer’s research.
Want to celebrate both? Etsy artist The Lazy Daisy is offering a towel featuring the lilac, a portion of the proceeds to benefit Alzheimer’s research around the world. Share and Enjoy!
Photo credit to Code.Monk via Flickr.
Some of my favourite people are nerds. Just sayin’.
XOJA
Woohoo! But are we going to have to get into the geek versus nerd debate? 😉
Thanks, Jonster.
Just wear a lilac towel.
BTW — May 25 is also Geek Pride Day.
Actually I will be carrying (not wearing) a lilac towel around today. You know, just in case.
And thanks for the heads up on Geek Pride Day – how did I miss this?! 🙂
Love it! Thanks so much for discussing the story of each unique tribute. And both it shall be!
Glad you enjoyed it, Mike, they’re two of my favorites. I can’t help but wish they were on different days, although it’s fun to see the fans get creative. And of course I love that Wear the Lilac is tied into philanthropy and education (even if the reason why saddens me).
Wonder if we can get a Vogon Poetry Slam lined up for next year? Maybe a pan-galactic gargle blaster happy hour? 😉
Thanks for stopping by!