When you were just a kid, have you ever asked your father why the sky is blue? why the earth is round? etc. We even sent an space shuttle just to look for clues, spent millions on fossil studies. Now that the Internet is here and almost all topic could be seached via google; then, have you tried searching for the ultimate question about the answer to life, the universe and everything ? Try it with google and i hope you'll not be disapointed with the result.
Here's the result to the query: the answer to life, the universe and everything using google. To search on how did google came to the answer, read it at wikipedia, but before that, watch the movie Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
can you just tell me why it's 42. haven't read the book yet, see.
@liplip, you should read the book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, I recommend reading it than watching the movie. Yams has a hard bound copy.