WaniKani Easter Eggs/ Weird UI... Why 42+?

#1

Hi all,

This is not me complaining about the WaniKani interface or program at all. I love it so far, no complaints. But just like the vocabulary examples that are tongue in cheeky and silly, I feel like there might be some little Easter eggs hidden in the interface itself.

Like I found myself thinking about the number of lessons/reviews last night. Why 42+ ? Like, why 42? Wouldn’t it make more sense to be in multiples of 5, like 45 or 50? Or even 48, for four dozen? I don’t know, it’s just fun to think that someone made the conscious decision on 42…

Maybe I’m the only one who finds this interesting… I love fantasizing about conspiracy theories and why people make specific decisions like that, wondering if it’s more than meets the eye. :sweat_smile:

I would love to know if anyone else has found themselves contemplating the strangeness on WK while in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Or if it really is just me.

Much love to all of my Crabigators out there.
-Nikka

#2

42 comes from The hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It is one of the quirky things here that will never ever change …

#3


#4

Kochi is literally OBSESSED with hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, so you’ll see 42, and other references a lot here :slight_smile:

#5

@Joshikii @RoseWagsBlue
Explains a lot! I’ve never read/watched it so I have some catching up to do :sweat_smile: My roommate is reading it now so maybe I’ll steal it from her when she’s done haha.

#6

Definitely read it when you get the chance, it’s great. :slight_smile: The movie is ok, but not quite up to the standard of the books or even the 80s BBC series.

#7

The book is a short but very good read. There is no reason not to check it out. Should be available at your local library. :slight_smile:

#8

It’s short if you don’t consider the other 5 books

#9

Especially as your levels progress, if you keep your eye on the example sentences when studying the vocabulary you’ll pick up on several recurring themes and plot lines. It’s all fiction of course, and the characters are Tofugu team members. Oh except for フグ and サーモン (Fugu, and Salmon) a married pair of fish.

#10

I did not consider them, or was aware of them, if I am honest.

#11

Is Mrs. Chou a Tofugu team member?

#12

I don’t know about Mrs. Chou, but Hard Gay definitely is

#13

I thought Hard Gay was executed with a Saber?

#14

No she is fictional, unless you don’t do your reviews, then she may materialize. At first, just your dreams, but eventually lurking around your house.

#15

As if my insomnia wasn’t bad enough as it was…

#17

Unfortunately.

#18

That was posted on another topic a while ago, so it doesn’t seem like it’s impossible it will be changed at some point.

#19

Considering how often this topic comes up, I wonder why they leave it in the ‘back-burner’. It’s such a simple change that doesn’t need extensive testing.

#20

Well, there are a few reasons for it, but it mainly comes down to being low-priority. I don’t want to get into another heated debate about why we should get rid of it (since it’s come up umpteen times before), but I will point out two things:

  1. While the change would be relatively simple, we have two developers, and they have more important/exciting things to work on. We’re updating and improving background functions and the API pretty regularly, but those changes aren’t very visible in most cases.
  2. Although this comes up every so often on the forums, the number of complaints about it versus the actual user base is very low. You might see the threads that get started and think “This is such an obvious change that everybody wants, why don’t they just do it?” but that’s not the case - you guys are a vocal minority. Which doesn’t mean we ignore you, but it is part of what makes it “low priority.”

Like I said in the other thread, that’s NOT to say that we’ll never change it. I think being able to see the actual number is a perfectly legitimate request. But it’s not happening today, or tomorrow, and probably not even the day after that. :wink:

#21

I like the reference and would like it to stay in :slight_smile: