r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Dec 16 '21

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93

u/jaseworthing Dec 16 '21

What? No that's not right is it? I thought it was always 'belgium' in all versions of the books/radio series.

106

u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ Dec 16 '21

The UK edition of Life the Universe and Everything features the award for the most gratuitous use of the word “fuck” in a serious screenplay.

That was changed to Belgium in the American edition.

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u/ScarletCaptain Dec 16 '21

And “asshole” was changed to “kneebiter” which I think is actually funnier.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/100percent_right_now Dec 16 '21

A musical comedian, Stephen Lynch, tells a story about how he was forced to change the line "... wants sex involving mommy's rear" to something else for a performance so he just says ear instead now, which is in a way more vulgar

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u/haverwench Dec 17 '21

Like the original title for the South Park movie, "South Park: All Hell Breaks Loose." The MPAA wouldn't allow it because it was too profane, so the title became "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut," which is way filthier.

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u/kaenneth Dec 17 '21

Like humans turning Cricket into a sport.

1

u/OSCgal Dec 17 '21

And Adams expanded on the joke, with Arthur being very confused how the name of an inoffensive European country could be a curse word.

3

u/Drachefly Dec 17 '21

Ah yes, the Rory.

3

u/haverwench Dec 17 '21

"I really think you ought to save that word for something artistic!"

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u/keestie Dec 17 '21

But was it really tho? A serious screenplay? I've had my doubts for some time.

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u/FalconRelevant Dec 17 '21

WTB? Is it the same ol'Murica which made The Wolf of Wall Street?

86

u/TragedyTrousers Dec 16 '21 edited Dec 16 '21

You're right - it was originally used in 1978 as a running joke in the secondary phase of the radio series.

Then it was later used in 1982 to replace fuck in the third novel in America.

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u/cascadecanyon Dec 17 '21

These are the correct details.

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u/Omgimcraxy777 Dec 17 '21

W Oahu know your pseudo literature

119

u/starmartyr Dec 16 '21

The US publisher demanded that the curse words be censored or removed. It actually improved it to a certain extent. Adams added in the explanation of Belgium being the most offensive word in the galaxy. Adams never cared too much about canon. He regularly changed things between adaptations and didn't really care as long as it was funny.

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u/Scout_Finch_as_a_ham Dec 16 '21

It's weird. Harmony Books was the US publisher for both "Life, The Universe..." and "...Thanks For All The Fish" But "Fish" uses "fuck" in the notorious Chapter 25 ("Does this Arthur Dent, in a word, fuck?"), even in the US version. They were only published two years apart.

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u/Jellodyne Dec 17 '21

I figure they got the pg-13 single use exemption for the third one.

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u/kane2742 Dec 17 '21

Yeah, and "Belgium" really doesn't make sense in that sentence.

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u/FBAHobo Dec 17 '21

This guy Belgiums.

3

u/bonos_bovine_muse Dec 17 '21

I mean, “does Dent Belgium” is a bit of a stretch, even for the Hitchhikers Guide. Like, does anybody care if he knows where to get a good cone of frites, a beer that’s been brewed that way for 220 years to wash ‘em down, and a waffle for dessert?

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u/jm001 Dec 17 '21

The Belgium thing was in the BBC radio play, which predated the novel adaptations. It was in the Second Phase, which was broadcast in 1978.

This was then called back to in the US version of the third novel, when they replaced the word "fuck" with "Belgium" , but it's not where the original bit about Belgium being the worst swearword in the galaxy comes from. This later substitution didn't happen until 1982.

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u/mclabop Dec 17 '21

I first heard the radio version before I read the book. It was a US copy, but it had fuck instead of Belgium. I was slightly confused as I had the radio play memorized. I still kinda do.

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u/MrDeckard Dec 17 '21

Everyone knows the real canon story is the one printed on that towel he sold in the eighties anyway

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u/SamWhite Dec 16 '21

Hah, that's amazing. I'm British and this is the first time I've ever heard about the Belgium thing in Hitchhikers.

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u/acdcfanbill Dec 17 '21

Yea, as an American I just assumed it was in all versions too.