I have a pet theory that though Adams believed he picked the number at random, that it probably had some significance to a person of his social background at th

I have a pet theory that though Adams believed he picked the number at random, that it probably had some significance to a person of his social background at that particular point in time. That is, in the spirit of the books themselves he drew it unknowingly from his environment. I think that 42 rang for him due it’s association with WW2. The type of (particularly British) humour he deploys in his writing is the sort that makes fun of unspoken awkward thoughts and experiences. I reckon it might have been a subtly taboo number due its association with the horrors of WW2 and Adams being of the first adult generation to not experienced the horrors the time might have been right to “make light of” this number. TL;DR The number 42 maybe did have a significance beyond what he was himself consciously aware of; he describes the process of such exigesis in his books, perhaps also subconsciously!