42: The REAL Meaning of Life Trivia Quiz

Answer: There was no host

The Academy Awards ceremony, commonly known as the Oscars, is presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The whole purpose of the award is to honour excellence within the film industry.

The 42nd Academy Awards took place on the 7th of April, 1970, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. An unusual fact about this specific Academy Awards ceremony is that it had no host. While unusual, this is not completely unheard of. Other Academy Award ceremonies which have had no host include the 11th ceremony (1939), the 14th ceremony (1942), the 20th Academy Award ceremony (1948), the 41st ceremony (1969), the 43rd ceremony (1971) and the 61st ceremony (1989).

A list of the major award winners at the 42nd Academy Awards is listed below.

Best Motion Picture: "Midnight Cowboy."
Best Actor: John Wayne for his role in "True Grit."
Best Actress: Maggie Smith for her role in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."
Best Supporting Actor: Gig Young for his role in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
Best Supporting Actress: Goldie Hawn for her role in "Cactus Flower."
Best Director: John Schlesinger for "Midnight Cowboy."

Answer: Dogs

Yup, from the animals listed above, the adult dog of most breeds will have 42 teeth, although this number may occasionally differ. However, the accepted idea is that adult dogs commonly have 42 teeth.

Dogs have two sets of teeth. Puppies are born without teeth, and will only really begin to develop teeth between 4 and 8 weeks of age. These are known as deciduous teeth, and there are generally 28 of them. This is the time when the puppy will be able to start eating solid food. By the time the dog has reached about six months of age, the deciduous teeth will have been replaced by 42 adult teeth.

Answer: Kumar

"The Kumars at No. 42" debuted in the UK on BBC 2 on the 12th of November 2001. The show revolves around the Kumars; Sanjeev, the thirty-something son with ambitions to be a talk-show host (played by Sanjeev Bhaskar) ; Madhuri and Ashwin, Sanjeev's parents (played by Indira Joshi and Vincent Ebrahim respectively) ; and Ummi, Sanjeev's crotchety and impertinent old grandmother (played by Meera Syal, Sanjeev's wife in real life).

It is an interesting show, in that it seems to be a mixture of talk show and sitcom. The regular cast generally have their lines scripted (although a certain amount of improvisation DOES take place), with the guests being interviewed as they would on a real talk show.

Answer: Yes

Who would ever have thought that the answer to the meaning of life could be unlucky? However, in the Japanese culture, 42 (among other numbers) is considered to be disastrously unlucky.

"Yakudoshi" is a period in one's life that the Japanese culture considers to be a time of disaster and calamity, and it is generally believed that these years in one's life is the time when one will suffer great misfortune and bad luck. For men, yakudoshi is considered to be the years of 24, 42 and 61, and for women, 19, 33 and 37.

Now, why 42? When counting in Japanese, 4 is pronounced "shi," which is homophonous with the word death (thus many people try to avoid using that word), and 42 is pronounced "shi-ni," then becomes homophonous with the words "to death."

So, knowing this... Would it then be safe to conclude, then, that the Ultimate Answer to the Great Questions is, in fact, death? ;)

Answer: The Empire State Building

As stated before, 42nd Street is one of New York's main avenues, and has many of New York's tourist attractions situated along it. The only attraction listed above which is NOT along 42nd Street is the Empire State Building, which is at the intersection of 5th Avenue and West 34th Street. The Empire State Building was named by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Grand Central Terminal (which is often referred to as Grand Central Station), is located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York.

The Chrysler Building is the second tallest building in New York (for a short time, it was the world's tallest building before the Empire State Building overtook it). It is at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, and is 319m high.

The New York Public Library was established in 1895, and it's main building is located on 5th Avenue running from 40th Street across to 42nd Street in Manhattan, and has been named as a National Historical Landmark.

Answer: Level 42

Level 42 is a British pop, rock and funk band that was formed in 1980. The founding members were Phil and Boon Gould, a drummer and guitarist respectively, Mark King and Mike Lindup. They seemed to die down a bit round about 1994, but made a comeback in 2001.

Some of Level 42's songs include "Love Games," "Something About You," "Lessons in Love" and "Something About You."

Since 1980, Level 42 has released 11 studio albums, and has sold over 30 million albums.

Answer: XLII

This number system originated in Ancient Rome, and is believed to have been adapted from Etruscan and Greek numerals by the Romans. Despite it's ancient origins, Roman numerals are still in use today, gracing the faces of clocks, the pages of books, chord symbols in music, amongst many other uses.

The following chart shows which letter represented what number, according to the Roman numeral system.

I= 1
V= 5
X= 10
L= 50
C= 100
D= 500
M= 1000

These letters are combined in order to make other numbers. Hence, 42 was created using XL to get to 40 (the X coming before the L indicates that it is 50 subtract 10) and the II added on after shows that it equates to 40 + 2. Hence 42.

Answer: The number of months that the Beast will have control over the world during the End Times

According to the book of Revelation written by St. John on the isle of Patmos, during the End Times, a terrible beast would hold power over the earth for 42 months, or three and a half years.

Below is a passage taken from the book of Revelation out of a King James Version of the Bible:

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue FORTY AND TWO months."
Revelation 13:1-5

Yikes. Sounds like a pretty scary prospect to me.

Answer: Bill Clinton

William Jefferson Blythe III, better known as Bill Clinton, was born on the 19th of August, 1946 and was the 42nd President of the United States of America, and belonged to the Democratic political party.

Before being "promoted" to President, for nearly 12 years, Bill was the 50th and 52nd Governor of the state of Arkansas.

Bill Clinton's immediate family include his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton; and a daughter, Chelsea Clinton. Clinton is often remembered for his involvement in the Monika Lewinsky scandal.

Answer: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," which has been made into a TV series, a radio broadcast, as well as a movie, triggered the cult-like following of the number 42.

For those unfamiliar with the story told in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," specifically the bits referring to 42, a supercomputer, Deep Thought, was asked to calculate the a "simple" answer; Ultimate Answer to the Great Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

An excerpt from Chapter 27 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams:

"'We are the ones who will hear,' said Phouchg, 'the answer to the great question of Life...!'
'The Universe...!' said Loonquawl.
'And Everything...!'
'Shhh' said Loonquawl with a slight gesture, 'I think Deep Thought is preparing to speak!'
There was a moment's expectant pause whilst panels slowly came to life on the front of the console. Lights flashed on and off experimentally and settled down into a businesslike pattern. A soft low hum came from the communication channel.
'Good morning,' said Deep Thought at last.
'Er... Good morning, O Deep Thought,' said Loonquawl nervously, 'do you have... er, that is...'
'An answer for you?' interrupted Deep Thought majestically. 'Yes, I have.'
The two men shivered with expectancy. Their waiting had not been in vain.
'There really is one?' breathed Phouchg.
'There really is one,' confirmed Deep Thought.
'To Everything? To the great Question of Life, the Universe and Everything?'
'Yes.'
Both of the men had been trained for this moment, their lives had been a preparation for it, they had been selected at birth as those who would witness the answer, but even so they found themselves gasping and squirming like excited children.
'Are you ready to give it to us?' urged Loonquawl.
'I am.'
'Now?'
'Now,' said Deep Thought.
They both licked their dry lips.
'Though I don't think,' added Deep Thought, 'that you're going to like it.'
'Doesn't matter!' said Phouchg. 'We must know it! Now!'
'Now?' inquired Deep Thought.
'Yes! Now...'
'All right,' said the computer and settled into silence again. The two men fidgeted. The tension was unbearable.
'You're really not going to like it,' observed Deep Thought.
'Tell us!'
'All right,' said Deep Thought. 'The Answer to the Great Question...'
'Yes...!'
'Is...' said Deep Thought, and paused.
'Yes...!'
'Is...'
'Yes...!...?'
'Forty-two,' said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm."

So there you have it. No more sleepless night staring up at the ceiling, writhing around in your bed, fretting and wondering what the true meaning of life is. Look no further... As you can see from the numerous examples in this quiz, we can conclude that the Meaning of Life really is 42!

Have a lovely day!