42 (number)

42 is the natural number following 41 and preceding 43. It is an even number.

Mathematics:

42 is a pronic number, being the product of 6 and 7.
It is a Catalan number.
42 is the sum of the first six positive even numbers.
It is a Harshad number, being divisible by the sum of its digits (4 + 2 = 6, and 42 / 6 = 7).
It is the smallest number that is the sum of three cubes in two different ways: 42 = (-80)³ + 57³ + 66³ = (-84)³ + 12³ + 84³ (discovered in 2019).
It is believed to be the only number between 1 and 100 (inclusive) that is not currently known to be the sum of three cubes, although this remains an unproven conjecture as of late 2023. The search for cube decompositions is ongoing.
42! + 1 is prime, according to Wilson's theorem.
In base 10, it is the last integer between 1 and 100 to have not been successfully expressed as the sum of three cubes (this status changed in 2019).
It is an Achilles number.

In Popular Culture:

In Douglas Adams's science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is "the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", calculated by a supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. The meaning of the answer itself remains a matter of speculation and humor within the series.

Other:

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