While I do agree that the amount of speculation over such a simple joke is a little ridiculous, Douglas Adams' actual thought process doesn't invalidate the alt

While I do agree that the amount of speculation over such a simple joke is a little ridiculous, Douglas Adams' actual thought process doesn't invalidate the alternatives as valid interpretations of the text. While Adams may have had no particular question in mind when he wrote the joke, it is nonetheless a key point of the story that there is such a question, and as such it is to be expected that some people's interpretations of the story will include one. Now personally, I would argue that the actual question is unknowable, and that this is central to the point of the story, but this is just my opinion.