Today, May 25, as anyone with any decency, self-respect, and common sense knows, is Towel Day. Towel Day celebrates the beloved British author Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, its attendant volumes, and the Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency books.

In the Hitchhiker's books, the towel has a place of pride as a tool both practical and psychological, a baby blanket for the Universe. On the news of Adams' death, in May of 2001, Clyde Williamson left a message on the Binary Freedom forum:

From Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "A towel 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 vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft 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 to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindbogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you—daft as a bush, but very ravenous); 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."

"Douglas Adams will be missed by his fans worldwide. So that all his fans everywhere can pay tribute to this genius, I propose that two weeks after his passing (25 May 2001) be marked as 'Towel Day.' All Douglas Adams fans are encouraged to carry a towel with them for the day."

Adams is arguably one of the founding fathers of geekdom. Not simply because of his books, which unite an obvious love of science with a virtuoso sense of the absurdity of life. He also acted as a script doctor on uber-nerd scifi show Doctor Who and was instrumental in the development of the Hitchhiker's video game. He wrote with Monty Python's Graham Chapman, even appearing in sketches in episodes 42 and 44. He was an Apple fanboy long before the term gained currency. He was also an environmentalist and animal lover.

Ten years after Williamson conceived it, the holiday is celebrated in at least 30—and possibly as many as 42—countries worldwide, including Namibia, Finland, and Indonesia.

Among the more noteworthy celebrations:

On the Platz der Wienersymphoniker in Bregenz, Austria, "the discussion between Arthur and Mr. Posser in front of the yellow bulldozer will be re-enacted AND THERE WILL BE A YELLOW CAT930 (and peanuts, beer, and a bowl of Petunias)."

In São Paulo, Brazil, fans will celebrate the annual Marcha Da Toalha, while down the road in Brasilia they will host the Vogon Poetry Contest. ("Vogon poetry is widely accepted as the third worst in the Universe.") Vogon poetry is also slated to be recited in Prague.

Animeggroll in St. Louis, MO is one of many groups organizing a towel drive to benefit a local animal shelter.

Froods in Pune, India, are gathering at Volare on the Baner Pashan Link Road for (it goes without saying) Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters.

In Paris, the Grand Ordre de la Serviette and the Don't Panic Club are hosting an "elaborate program," which includes cosplay, a towel beauty contest, improv, and an "English tea and jelly."

For a more complete menu of shenanigans, see the Towel Day website.

So, cavort, my hoopy froods! Gambol, imbibe, declaim! But whatever you do, DON'T PANIC.