Лол старикашка Адамс приписал этому числу ответ на главный вопрос жизни и пошло поехало xD. А потом лоло программисты приплели к этому косяк С: который представляет выражение 6*9 в виде, 1+5*8+1, то есть в итоге получается 54.
Вот кстати слова самого автора: The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought ‘42 will do.’ I typed it out. End of story.
Вот кстати слова самого автора:
The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought ‘42 will do.’ I typed it out. End of story.