Apparently, if we find the question and the answer, the universe will be replaced by something infinitely more confusing. However, this has already happened at least once (we think), and has probably happened multiple times before that, too. If you do that enough times, eventually the result will be something that makes no sense to anyone including its creator, or something with no meaning. No meaning, no question, no answer. 42 is a number pulled out of Deep Thought's and Douglas Adam's collective ass.