Square Face Flannel
A modest square of woven cotton terrycloth intended for facial ablutions. Often regarded as the tiny, polite younger sibling of the massively useful towel.
Item Specification: Square Face Flannel
"For some reason, if a strag discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits..."
— The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Chapter 3
The Square Face Flannel (known on some frontier worlds as a washcloth or facial sponge) is a modest ten-inch square of woven terrycloth. While lacking the heroic proportions and multifaceted cosmic versatility of the full-sized Massively Useful Towel, the flannel is an esteemed element of civilized travel kit.
Distinct Utility vs. The Towel
Travelers often ask why one would bother carrying a flannel when one already possesses a magnificent towel:
- The Gentle Polish: While a towel is designed to withstand hand-to-hand combat or ward off the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, the face flannel is engineered for delicate tasks—such as dabbing perspiration from one's brow after surviving an emergency hyperspace deceleration.
- The Soap Pairing: Paired with a good Bar of Soap, a damp flannel creates a rich lather capable of removing dried Vogon sludge, swamp mud, or the sticky glaze of Algolian mega-syrup.
- Pact with Strags: Like the Travel Toothbrush, displaying an intact face flannel convinces hotel managers and customs inspectors that you are an upstanding tourist rather than an interstellar vagrant.
Demolition Form 27B/6
Official notice of hyperspatial bypass construction. Filed in a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory with a sign saying 'Beware of the Leopard'.
Fallian Marsh Gas
A sweet, hyper-effervescent aromatic vapor harvested from the bubbling wetlands of Fallia. Step Four of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster recipe, bubbled through the mixture in memory of all those happy Hikers who have died of pleasure.