With an interactive doodle

Google has marked what would have been Douglas Adams’s 61st birthday with a Google Doodle.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy creator was born on 11 March 1952 in Cambridge and died of a heart attack in California in May 2001 at 49.

The doodle, which replaces the usual Google logo for a day, includes a copy of the Guide, the cup of tea that his hero Arthur Dent had so much trouble securing in the series, and the towel that every intergalactic traveller should carry.

Marvin the Paranoid Android is hidden in the artwork, and clicking the guide itself brings up entries such as Earth’s ‘mostly harmless’ and the Babel Fish translator.

Adams was also known for his conservation work and love of technology, and was one of the first people in Britain to have an Apple Mac.

A celebration of The Meaning Of Liff, which he co-wrote with QI creator John Lloyd, aired on Radio 4 last month to mark its 30th anniversary.

Published: 11 Mar 2013