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Ford Prefect took that name because he thought it sounded like a normal name on Earth. I couldn't find any mention anywhere that he used this name before his 15-year-long visit to Earth and he didn't have any contact with anyone not from Earth who knew him (specifically not with Zaphod) until he was picked up by the Heart of Gold. Unless I missed something while reading, the name "Ford Prefect" wasn't mentioned until Zaphod addressed Ford directly.

My question is, firstly, how does Zaphod know about the name in the first place and secondly, why does he prefer to use it over whatever name he used before Ford's trip to Earth?

BCdotWEB
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Skrillaka
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1 Answers1

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Douglas Adams actually explained this on page 50 of the book of the radio scripts.

Many people have asked me angrily why it is that Zaphod Beeblebrox instantly greets Ford as Ford when I had earlier stated quite clearly that he had only changed his name to Ford Prefect when he came to Earth.

It was very simple. Just before arriving he registered his new name officially at the Galactic Nomenclaturoid Office, where they had the technology to unpick his old name from the fabric of space/time and thread the new one in its place, so that to all intents and purposes his name always had been and always would be Ford Prefect. I included a footnote explaining this in the first Hitch-Hiker book, but it was cut because it was so dull.

Personally I prefer my own idea, which is that it was just an artifact of the Babel fish translation.

Community
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Daniel Roseman
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    I suspect when originally written, it was intended as an artifact of Babel fish translation, and the Adams quote above is him taking the piss out of the people angrily asking him the question. :-) – T.J. Crowder Jun 15 '16 at 10:45
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    One might also think that it's the credentials he went by when publishing to W̶i̶k̶i̶p̶e̶d̶i̶a̶ the Hitchhikkers Guide to the Galaxy, and Zaphod kept track of that. But that's most certainly not true, because Zaphod is kind of a jerk. – Wayne Werner Jun 15 '16 at 12:24
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    You know, ehhh, Zaphod is just this guy, you know. – Tschallacka Jun 15 '16 at 12:41
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    @T.J.Crowder i think you're right about the second part but I think the original reason is more likely to be a simple oversight. – Max Williams Jun 15 '16 at 13:24
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    @MaxWilliams: Yeah, I figured that too, but I like Daniel's in-universe explanation. :-) – T.J. Crowder Jun 15 '16 at 13:32
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    I wish Douglas Adams were still around, so he could write answers on here himself. – Paul D. Waite Jun 15 '16 at 14:45
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    @T.J.Crowder: I suspect that when originally written, it was because Douglas Adams was generally thinking of the character as Ford, and didn’t give a flying Belgium about establishing a detailed consistent background continuity. :-) – PLL Jun 15 '16 at 15:45
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    @PLL: That was my thought as well. And his explanation was just a brilliant retrospective remark to make the story even more ridicously farfetched than it already is. Classic Douglas Adams - nobody else could come up with anything similar. – awe Jun 16 '16 at 08:21
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    I always thought it was because we were witnessing events from Arthur's point of view, and as Arthur knew Ford as Ford, the Babel Fish translated whatever name Zaphod used as Ford. We don't even know if Zaphod was speaking English at this point; presumably Trillian/Tricia also has a Babel Fish in her ear, so ZB could have reverted to his native Betelgeusean. – Wallnut Jul 05 '16 at 12:38
  • I'd also vote for Babelfish. Zaphod most likely didn't speak English at that time, and even then and if Zaphod used Ford's original name, the fish would pick up the intention and let Arthur (and the Reader) "hear" the designation "Ford". – Zommuter Nov 11 '16 at 07:24
  • He did actually have contact with the guide publishers hence the article – user168262 Oct 07 '23 at 00:01