42 (the Answer)

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The number a supercomputer gives, after 7.5 million years, as the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.

In Douglas Adams's novel, Deep Thought computes 42 but notes the real problem is that nobody knows what the Question was. It has become a running in-joke across programming culture, hidden in Easter eggs from Google's calculator to countless default values and test fixtures.

Also known as: the Answer to Life the Universe and Everything, Deep Thought, Hitchhiker's Guide

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