Without context, I started reading the OPs quote out loud, and my girlfriend started laughing at "For instance, on the planet Earth..." It might be that you ha

Without context, I started reading the OPs quote out loud, and my girlfriend started laughing at "For instance, on the planet Earth..." It might be that you have to discover this at a certain age. My son devoured the series and read quote upon quote out loud. I read it in my teens... I've re-read it a few times and still love it. It's an absurd response to a crazy world. Babel fish? He needed a device, so he made one, and it's funny. Travel on...