The history of falling and missing the Earth

[Jestersage]

A famous line given in Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy is: "There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." As we now know, that's pretty much the act of orbiting, and had been used by some astrophysicists to describe orbiting.

The question is: Who first coined this description (or some form of it)? Is it Newton? Someone else in the astrophysicist field? or is it really coined by Douglas Adams, and other people realized that it is a good description and start to employ the saying?

Edited April 1, 2017 by Jestersage

[radonek]

I don't think it got known because it's a particulary good description, but because it's a funny description.

[YNM]

Adams is a really good writer, so it's probably himself. Newton doesn't really talk about orbits I think ? ...

[StrandedonEarth]

17 hours ago, radonek said:

I don't think it got known because it's a particulary good description, but because it's a funny description.

It's not a good description of flying, but it is an accurate description of orbiting.

13 minutes ago, YNM said:

Adams is a really good writer, so it's probably himself. Newton doesn't really talk about orbits I think ? ...

Newton was the first to theorize about orbits

http://www.astronautix.com/n/newtonsorbitalcannon.html

Quote

 Isaac Newton discussed the use of a cannon to attain orbit in 1687 in his Principia Mathematica - the very book that defined classical physics and provided the theoretical basis for space travel and rocketry.

 

[Gargamel]

Considering you guys are taking Adam's quote out of context, it is a VERY good description of flying, as he described it in the book.    In the book, and I'm pretty sure it was from Restaurant at the End of the Universe, (but I could be wrong, it's been a few years), He is describing the act of flying as falling towards the ground, forgetting you are falling, and then you fly away.  He describes resorts where people go and jump off of high places and then a staff member will jump out of the bushes and scare them, making them forget about falling, and then they are flying. 

[andrewas]

It wasn't in restaurant, it was the one where Arthur winds up back on Earth and meets Fenchurch. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish?

[Bill Phil]

It's from the third one. Hold on, I have the omnibus right next to me...

Life, the Universe, and Everything

Ford is the character who said it.

The quote in the book is about flying. Not orbiting. Although it isn't about orbits, it does kind of describe them. But the problem is that it says "throw yourself."

It is, however, about flying. Not with wings, but like Peter Pan.

I can't help you with the quote though. Phrases do evolve, so Adams may have coined this one. Or not. My google-fu is failing me, so I can't help you there.