The Hitch Hiker and other such things

I'm reading the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This book has gained "cult" status over the years but I am reading it only now - so sue me. Douglas Adams' language has this distinct "British" touch to it. You can always tell a Brit's English from the others. An example from Douglas Adams:

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value – you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you – daft as a bush, but very
ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

To the trained eye, language of such sorts comes across as distinctly British. I don't know how to explain it but I think you'll understand if you read stuff from British authors or listen to British comedy or speak to the many Brits floating around this world.

That apart I watched Night Shyamalan's "The Village" yesterday evening. Nice theme, though Shyamalan's treatment makes it unpalatable for everyone except those that enjoy Mani Ratnam movies (such as myself). The idea of a village far removed from the maddening world sounds nice, atleast to me.