This fabulous Don’t Panic badge has a fascinating back story of how it came into being. Maker Suicidebattery chanced across a conversation on Twitter where a group of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy fans where trying to identify the origin of a similar vintage badge. The group tracked it back to a small run of merchandise for a 1980’s stage show production of Hitchhikers, which on researching was a less than favourable version that didn’t run for very long.
If you don’t know, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “Don’t Panic” is emblazoned on the front of the guide. In the novel it’s explained as being there partly as the guide itself looks “Insanely complicated to operate”!
With some subtle changes this badge is in homage to that older merchandise. It’s a beautiful PCB with a single blinking LED. The badge is supplied fully assembled with a coin cell on the reverse for power. Perfect for a Hitchhikers fan and a good motto to live by!
