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'So Much Universe, So Little Time': 23 Bits About The Life And Legacy Of Sir Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett: Dungeon master to some, father to many

'So Much Universe, So Little Time': 23 Bits About The Life And Legacy Of Sir Terry Pratchett

August 20, 2021

Fans all over the world still mourn the loss of this amazing writer, whose irreverent humor and keen insight will be sorely missed. In honor of Sir Terry Pratchett, we have put together a little compilation of some of the most interesting facts about his life and work. So pour yourself a cup of tea, settle in, and us for a look at the brilliant mind behind Discworld.

If you're a fan of Terry Pratchett, then you know that he was a master of humor and wit. His writing was full of clever wordplay and one-liners that never failed to make us laugh. But what many people may not know is that Pratchett's life was just as funny as his books. From his early childhood all the way up to his final days, Pratchett never stopped making us smile. Let's take a look at some of the hilarious moments from Sir Terry's life.

Keep reading to learn more about Sir Terry Pratchett, the late brilliant author of Discworld, dungeon master to some, and father to many.

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT He created the Luggage while playing Dungeons and Dragons. Pratchett was a big fan of the tabletop game and would often act as the dungeon master. That's how he created the comically ruthless Luggage with its hundred little legs and homicidal edge. He got the idea after seeing an American woman struggling with a stubborn suitcase on wheels.. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT PRATCHETT WAS DUBBED BRITAIN'S MOST SHOPLIFTED AUTHOR. While he sold more than 80 million books that were translated into more than 30 languages, it has been claimed that no British author's books were more nicked than his, and he loved it. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT He first learned about astronomy through trading cards. OUT INTO SPACE Pratchett was a big lover of astronomy. In 1957, Brooke Bond Tea produced Out Into Space cards filled with astronomy facts. Pratchett convinced his parents to buy all the tea so he could collect these cards and observe the country's night sky. When he was older, he built an observatory in his garden, and bought the entire card set again. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT TERRY PRATCHETT LOVED ORANGUTANS. Except for his character, The Librarian, who was turned into an orangutan, Pratchett was also a trustee of the Orangutan Foundation and cared about their environments being threatened by industry. In 2013 the BBC released a film about Pratchett traveling to Borneo while dealing with his Alzheimer's and visiting the orangutans one last time in Terry Pratchett Facing Extinction. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT PRATCHETT WORKED IN THE NUCLEAR SECTOR FOLLOWING THE THREE MILE ISLAND ACCIDENT. Pratchett became the Press Officer for the Central Electricity Generation Board during the tumultuous years of nuclear power, from the Three Mile Island reactor meltdown all the way to Chernobyl. I learned a lot on that job. You know, when you put scientists and engineers and bureaucrats all in the same building, kind of interesting things emerge. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT PRATCHETT LIKED TO TAKE FANTASTICAL ELEMENTS AND APPLY LOGICAL THINKING TO THEM. you'll He created characters like a recovering vampire and a female werewolf who's a vegetarian. I thought, 'What would a werewolf family be like? How would the genealogy of werewolves work? What would the politics of werewolves be?' One thing just led to the other, but they all started from the basic idea of thinking seriously about werewolves in a modern society, or what es for a modern society. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT Pratchett grew up in Buckinghamshire's deep country. His childhood home didn't have any water. My father had to run a hosepipe every day or so to the house next door and fill up a little cistern that my mother would use in the scullery. We had gaslights, and every week or two my mother used to come home with a huge 90-volt dry battery that ran the radio. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT HOGFATHER WAS INSPIRED BY A TRIP TO A DEPARTMENT STORE WHEN PRATCHETT WAS SIX. TERRY PRATCHETT HOGEATHER NOVEL Growing up in the country in the pre-television era, Pratchett didn't know about city lights and fancy toy stores, so when his mom took him to the city to visit Santa Clause at a huge department store one Christmas, his mind was blown by the experience, and the seed for Hogfather was planted. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT WHEN HE WAS KNIGHTED, HE FORGED HIS OWN SWORD OUT OF LOCAL METALS AND ALSO A METEORITE. He gathered deposits of iron in a field near his home, smelted it himself, and also threw in several pieces of meteorites- -thunderbolt iron, you see - highly magical, you've got to chuck that stuff in whether you believe in it or not. He also created a coat of arms for himself with an ankh on it (for you know why) and a motto which translates to Don't fear the reaper. CRACKED.COM — Source, source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT PRATCHETT'S WITCHES, SPECIFICALLY TIFFANY ACHING, CAME FROM THE PLACE HE WAS BORN. THE WEE FREE MEN A DISCWORLD NOVEL The thing about England is that the numinous is all around you. Certainly in the chalk area, where I live now- and I was born on the chalk- the mounds in fields and standing stones have legends about them Every hill is Arthur's seat. CRACKED.COM — Source

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Sir Terry Pratchett

LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT PRATCHETT WROTE SOURCERY FOR THE FANS. A Discworld novel ,Terry Pratchett The first two Discworld books featured the fan-favorite character, Rincewind, and Pratchett soon realized that people wanted more of him. So he wrote Sourcery. I didn't particularly enjoy writing Sourcery, but it stayed on the best-seller list for three months. And then I said, 'Sod the fans, I'll do what I like. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT NASA named a main-belt asteroid after him. It's called the 127005 Pratchett and it was discovered in 2002. CRACKED.COM — Source

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Terry Pratchett

LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT PRATCHETT ORDERED HIS UNFINISHED MANUSCRIPTS TO BE CRUSHED BY A STEAMROLLER FOLLOWING HIS DEATH. And so it came to . The late author's hard drive was crushed by a steamroller named Lord Jericho in 2017. CRACKED.COM — Source

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Sir Terry Pratchett

LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT NANNY OGG WAS BASED ON A REAL PERSON. She was a little old lady with the most filthy laugh you could imagine, and she had had several husbands, was a widow, and she was kind of small and dumpy and walked with a stick. She really loved her booze. She was just a lovely character, and so I put her in the books almost without any changes. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT His medical condition was initially misdiagnosed, At first, the doctors thought Pratchett had suffered from a phantom stroke in 2007. Four months later they realized it was the effect of a rare early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He spent the rest of his life raising awareness for both Alzheimer's research and people's control over their right to die. When he was knighted at Buckingham Palace in 2009, he said that bankers' bonuses should be used to help treat people with dementia. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT On Ankh-Morpork and Captain Vimes. I can say to you that Ankh-Morpork is probably a cross between 17th century London and 20th century New York. Captain Vimes thinks like both the British and Americans think, i.e., you go to some other country but you bring with you your own cultural. baggage. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT He was totally into PC gaming. Not only did he enjoy playing games on his computer but he also collaborated on many game adaptations of his books. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT PRATCHETT USED COMPUTER DICTATION SOFTWARE DURING THE FINAL YEARS OF HIS LIFE. His form of Alzheimer's robbed him of his sight and his ability to read, so he used the technology to finish writing his last books. When you read, I'm sure you don't realize that your eyes are going backwards and forwards and to this place and that place. Mine don't do that. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT HE CARRIED HIS ILLNESS WITH HUMOR AND WIT. And he still continued writing, publishing a a total of nine Discworld books While dealing with his condition. A year after his Alzheimer's diagnosis, he said of his journey: There is a rumour going around that I have found God. 0 think this is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT ON DEATH, HIS CHARACTER Pratchett's creation of a Death personification who loves cats, curries, rides a horse named Binky and only talks in CAPS, is arguably one of the most fascinating characters in fantasy literature. Fitting, then, that the day Sir Terry Pratchett ed away his Twitter announced it as: AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT Critics weren't always big on his work. In his unfinished autobiography, Pratchett wrote that the feeling of somehow being inferior was something he had felt since his school days, that it had stayed with him and was hard to shake off. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT PRATCHETT OFTEN USED SATIRE IN HIS FANTASY WORK. While his books were mostly light and humorous, he touched on serious philosophies and issues like religion, xenophobia, international relations, and gender identity. Some of his storylines also parodied everyone from Lovecraft to Shakespeare. CRACKED.COM — Source

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LIFE AND LEGACY OF SIR TERRY PRATCHETT Terry Pratchett's name is embedded across the internet. Following his death, fans took a cue from Pratchett's book Going Postal. In the book, when someone has died, telegraphic towers called clacks send a memorial bit of hacked code down the lines consisting of GNU and the deceased's name. The G stood for ing on the message, the N meant not logged, and the U meant it must be sent back when it has reached the end of the line. GNU Terry Pratchett was soon embedded into code all across the internet, allowing his — Source

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