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> "That," he said, "that... is really bad for the eyes." > It was a ship of classic, simple design, like a flattened salmon, twenty yards long, very clean, ver

> "That," he said, "that... is really bad for the eyes." > It was a ship of classic, simple design, like a flattened salmon, twenty yards long, very clean, very sleek. There was just one remarkable thing about it. > "It's so... black!" said Ford Prefect. "You can hardly make out its shape... light just seems to fall into it!" > The blackness of it was so extreme that it was almost impossible to tell how close you were standing to it. > "Your eyes just slide off it..." said Ford in wonder

drewzero1 5y ago
> "Looks like a fish, moves like a fish, steers like a cow."
- aaroninsf 5y ago
  This line always perplexed me as a kid. I got (still get) stuck on the overlap between moving, and steering. Moving like a fish seems to include sinuous paths, schooling with sudden acceleration and darts to the side, etc... nimbleness and speed. I understood it was a proxy for "accelerates like/is as fast as" but found that unsatisfying. Also, cow works to evoke large, stubborn perhaps, unresponsive... but was an odd choice in as much as few try to steer cows. Shepherd, maybe. A water buffalo or ox or even mule felt like a missed opportunity, since they are prototypically steered and there is a sense of their owners/drivers laboring against their desire to not labor... Total Nicolson Baker rabbit hole, just a specific reading experience that has always stood out from that series. I have uttered that line countless times over the years in various contexts, including while dancing late at night on the playa.
  - JackFr 5y ago
    Yikes. It means young (neutered) male cattle prefer a cow.
    - Crespyl 5y ago
      Hah, somehow I never once made that connection. "Flies like a banana" has been an old favorite, but out of context I just never picked up on this version despite many re-reads.
      - cardiffspaceman 5y ago
        Time flies like an arrow / Fruit flies like a banana.
        bashinator 5y ago
        Time flies are utterly terrifying; avoid them at all costs.
        beardyw 5y ago
        Whilst the flight of fruit, though short lived, resembles that of a banana (which apparently is a berry)
        simondotau 5y ago
        I know that the second half is intended to convey that bananas are liked by fruit flies, but within the context of that saying, my brain steadfastly refuses to read it that way.
    - lurquer 5y ago
      Indeed. Face-palm. Reminds me of another ‘joke’ I never got which, for all I know, might have been obvious to everyone else: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.” I never knew that “the other side” was referring to death... like, at a seance when you contact the “other side”. Apparently the joke was a big hit in the days of the Spiritist movement (back with Houdini, Doyle, and all the others promoting or debunking seances.) I thought it was some intentionally stupid joke about crossing a road. Doh.
      - 5y ago
  - simondotau 5y ago
    My suspicion is that 'cow' was chosen for its natural contrast with a fish, its onomatopoeic nature, and the mental slam of unexpected absurdism. Or in other words, it was funny.
  - drewzero1 5y ago
    I have always interpreted "moves" in this context to relate to straight line acceleration, like when somebody says a sports car "really moves" they mean it's got quick straight-line acceleration. Immediately after this quote Ford (or maybe Zaphod?) says something about how he had been passed by some ship at great speed, and shortly after it crashed into a planet or something. I can't remember off the top of my head. But that seems to support the interpretation that it can move fast but can't steer.
8ig8 5y ago
Nigel Tufnel: "It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none -- none more black." This Is Spinal Tap (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7FRivVMgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7FRivVMgA)
perl4ever 5y ago
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuligin https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuligin "the hue fuligin, which is darker than black, admirably erases all folds, bunchings and gatherings so far as the eye is concerned, showing only a featureless dark.

drewzero1 5y ago

> "Looks like a fish, moves like a fish, steers like a cow."

aaroninsf 5y ago
This line always perplexed me as a kid. I got (still get) stuck on the overlap between moving, and steering. Moving like a fish seems to include sinuous paths, schooling with sudden acceleration and darts to the side, etc... nimbleness and speed. I understood it was a proxy for "accelerates like/is as fast as" but found that unsatisfying. Also, cow works to evoke large, stubborn perhaps, unresponsive... but was an odd choice in as much as few try to steer cows. Shepherd, maybe. A water buffalo or ox or even mule felt like a missed opportunity, since they are prototypically steered and there is a sense of their owners/drivers laboring against their desire to not labor... Total Nicolson Baker rabbit hole, just a specific reading experience that has always stood out from that series. I have uttered that line countless times over the years in various contexts, including while dancing late at night on the playa.
- JackFr 5y ago
  Yikes. It means young (neutered) male cattle prefer a cow.
  - Crespyl 5y ago
    Hah, somehow I never once made that connection. "Flies like a banana" has been an old favorite, but out of context I just never picked up on this version despite many re-reads.
    - cardiffspaceman 5y ago
      Time flies like an arrow / Fruit flies like a banana.
      - bashinator 5y ago
        Time flies are utterly terrifying; avoid them at all costs.
        beardyw 5y ago
        Whilst the flight of fruit, though short lived, resembles that of a banana (which apparently is a berry)
      - simondotau 5y ago
        I know that the second half is intended to convey that bananas are liked by fruit flies, but within the context of that saying, my brain steadfastly refuses to read it that way.
  - lurquer 5y ago
    Indeed. Face-palm. Reminds me of another ‘joke’ I never got which, for all I know, might have been obvious to everyone else: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.” I never knew that “the other side” was referring to death... like, at a seance when you contact the “other side”. Apparently the joke was a big hit in the days of the Spiritist movement (back with Houdini, Doyle, and all the others promoting or debunking seances.) I thought it was some intentionally stupid joke about crossing a road. Doh.
    - 5y ago
- simondotau 5y ago
  My suspicion is that 'cow' was chosen for its natural contrast with a fish, its onomatopoeic nature, and the mental slam of unexpected absurdism. Or in other words, it was funny.
- drewzero1 5y ago
  I have always interpreted "moves" in this context to relate to straight line acceleration, like when somebody says a sports car "really moves" they mean it's got quick straight-line acceleration. Immediately after this quote Ford (or maybe Zaphod?) says something about how he had been passed by some ship at great speed, and shortly after it crashed into a planet or something. I can't remember off the top of my head. But that seems to support the interpretation that it can move fast but can't steer.

8ig8 5y ago

Nigel Tufnel: "It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none -- none more black." This Is Spinal Tap (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7FRivVMgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7FRivVMgA)

perl4ever 5y ago

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuligin https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuligin "the hue fuligin, which is darker than black, admirably erases all folds, bunchings and gatherings so far as the eye is concerned, showing only a featureless dark.