Young Blonde Girl On The Beach With A Colorful Towel

Appearances in popular culture
• Towels played an iconic role in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They are described as the most "massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have," an example usage being to ward off the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. The fictitious time/space traveller and Guide Researcher Ford Prefect uses the idiom "a hoopy frood who really knows where his towel is" to mean someone generally alert and aware. Some fans of Douglas Adams have seized on this idea, and towels are now considered a symbol of devotion to the Hitchhiker books, radio series, TV series, website, etc. Towel Day is held each year in memory of Adams.
• In the cartoon South Park a character named Towelie is a walking, talking "RG-400 Smart Towel" manufactured by Tynacorp. He frequently reminds people to bring towels, because you'll never know when you'll need a towel. He is also known for frequently smoking marijuana.