The white concil's meeting place.

[Cirdan]

No, that's "42" as in "what do you get if you multiply six by nine" 42.

[TulKas]

Ah well when you put it that way

[dried-mango]

Um, I gather you both (Tulkas and Cirdan) aren't familiar with Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series of books?

[Cirdan]

"Ford," he said suddenly, "look, if that Question is printed in my brain wave patterns but I'm not consciously aware of it it must be somewhere in my unconscious."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"There might be a way of bringing that unconscious pattern forward."
"Oh yes?"
"Yes, by introducing some random element that can be shaped by that pattern."
"Like how?"
"Like by pulling Scrabble letters out of a bag blindfolded."
Ford leapt to his feet.
"Brilliant!" he said. He tugged his towel out of his satchel and with a few deft knots transformed it into a bag.
"Totally mad," he said, "utter nonsense. But we'll do it because it's brilliant nonsense. Come on, come on."
The sun passed respectfully behind a cloud. A few small sad raindrops fell.
They piled together all the remaining letters and dropped them into the bag. They shook them up.
"Right," said Ford, "close your eyes. Pull them out. Come on come on, come on."
Arthur closed his eyes and plunged his hand into the towelful of stones. He jiggled them about, pulled out four and handed them to Ford. Ford laid them along the ground in the order he got them.
"W," said Ford, "H, A, T... What!"
He blinked.
"I think it's working!" he said.
Arthur pushed three more at him.
"D, O, Y... Doy. Oh perhaps it isn't working," said Ford.
"Here's the next three."
"O, U, G... Doyoug... It's not making sense I'm afraid."
Arthur pulled another two from the bag. Ford put them in place.
"E, T, doyouget... Do you get!" shouted Ford, "it is working! This is amazing, it really is working!"
"More here." Arthur was throwing them out feverishly as fast as he could go.
"I, F," said Ford, "Y, O, U,... M, U, L, T, I, P, L, Y,... What do you get if you multiply,... S, I, X,... six, B, Y, by, six by... what do you get if you multiply six by... N, I, N, E,... six by nine..." He paused. "Come on, where's the next one?"
"Er, that's the lot," said Arthur, "that's all there were."
He sat back, nonplussed.
He rooted around again in the knotted up towel but there were no more letters.
"You mean that's it?" said Ford.
"That's it."
"Six by nine. Forty-two."
"That's it. That's all there is."

- Chapter 33, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Ha!

[dried-mango]

Lol Cirdan! Aaah, my most humble apologies. You are enlightened after all!

[Frodo_Baggins]

My quote from UT stated the THE ISTARI were part of the council. Not just the ones of the North-West of Middle-Earth. And to back up my meeting place point, in The Hobbit, Gandalf travels from Beorn's south to the council meeting. The council was obviously held in Lorien. If it was in Rivendell, he would have gone West.

[Beorn]

Not being astute in math, I was left a bit puzzled reading that particular section in Adam's LTUAE. Something didn't seem to sound right about 6*8=42, so I punched it in on a calculator, and got the joke. Stupid, eh?

[Cirdan]

It's "six by nine", not six by eight. And, if you do the math in base-13, it is the correct answer.

[Beorn]

If you'll examine you're keyboard, you'll notice that the number 8 is extremely close to the number 9. And it's pretty easy to mix such things at 1:30 in the morning. Interesting as that is (base-13 thing), I'm assuming that the joke was based on the base-10 product, correct me if I am mislead.

BTW, I meant that my checking it on a calculator was stupid, not the joke.

[Cirdan]

If you'll examine you're keyboard, you'll notice that the number 8 is extremely close to the number 9. And it's pretty easy to mix such things at 1:30 in the morning. Interesting as that is (base-13 thing), I'm assuming that the joke was based on the base-10 product, correct me if I am mislead.

We-erl... yes and no. We use base-10 (thanks to Golgafrinchams) and the Answer uses base-13. I seem to remember reading that in the original radio play someone mentioned base thirteen in that scene... Anyway, the Universe is not completely FUBAR, it's just... askew.

BTW, I meant that my checking it on a calculator was stupid, not the joke.

Yeah, we all know that... hummm... hommm... right.

[Mithrandir]

I thought that the Blue Wizards bugged out East after arriving at the Grey Havens, and were never heard from again. I always wondered at their powers and appearances. What page was that quote on, Frodo? (drools excitedly).