Santraginus V
A paradise ocean world celebrated for its brilliant marble-sanded beaches, aromatic sea vapours, and exquisite marine life. The turquoise water harvested from its seas is the sacred second ingredient of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.
Planet Dossier: Santraginus V
"A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have... you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours...
Pour into it one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V — Oh, that Santraginean sea water, it says. Oh those Santraginean fish!!!"
— The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Chapters 2 & 3
Santraginus V is universally recognized across the civilized Galaxy as the ultimate tropical ocean sanctuary. Situated in a tranquil, sun-blessed corner of the Western Spiral Arm, the planet is an idyllic paradise world of dazzling turquoise lagoons, shimmering coral atolls, and warm sea breezes infused with restorative aromatic vapours.
The Brilliant Marble-Sanded Beaches
The sweeping coastlines of Santraginus V are composed of pulverized, polished calcium-carbonate marble rather than ordinary terrestrial quartz sand:
- The Marble Texture: The grains are cool to the touch even under high noon stellar radiance, producing an opalescent pearlescent glow across the tidelines at twilight.
- The Towel Sanctuary: The Guide specifically singles out the marble beaches of Santraginus V as the premier cosmic location for laying out a fresh Massively Useful Towel, reclining beneath palm-like crystalline fronds, and letting one's worldly anxieties dissolve into the horizon.
- The Heady Sea Vapours: Native marine micro-flora release a mild, completely benign euphoric mist that gently evaporates off the surf, inducing a state of deep philosophical peace and calm in all visiting bipeds.
The Sacred Santraginean Seawater
The turquoise waters of Santraginus V boast a mineral and electrolytic purity unmatched in any known aquatic ecosystem:
- The Gargle Blaster Component: When ex-President Zaphod Beeblebrox developed the recipe for the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, he declared that only pure Santraginean seawater could properly blend with the ferocious alcoholic sting of Ol' Janx Spirit.
- The Santraginean Fish: The oceans are populated by luminous, prismatic marine fauna that swim in synchronized harmonic patterns around volcanic reef arches. These fish are considered so aesthetically delightful that disturbing them carries severe municipal penalties.
Tourism & Hitchhiker Facilities
- Megadodo Coastal Pavilions: Luxury resorts and beachside open-air pavilions cater to off-duty starship pilots, wandering researchers, and travelers who have successfully survived a jump across the Western Spiral Arm.
- Solar-Skiff Ferries: Autonomous catamarans glide between the island atolls, allowing hitchhikers to easily island-hop with nothing more than an Electronic Thumb, a towel, and a few Altairian Dollars.
Poghril (Pansel System)
A famine-struck land in the Pansel system where 239,000 lightly fried eggs fell out of an improbability hole in a large wobbly heap, leading to the death by cholesterol poisoning of the last surviving member of the Poghril tribe.
Squornshellous Zeta
A planet composed largely of swamps and soft mosses, populated exclusively by intelligent, gentle flolloping mattresses, every single one of whom is called Zem.