Here Are 14 Things They Don’t Teach You About Hawaii In School
By Megan Shute|Published April 10, 2016
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Megan Shute
Author
With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
Hawaii may be America’s youngest state, but it is definitely not without intriguing history, fascinating places and some pretty crazy tidbits of information. You may not have learned these 14 lesser-known facts about the Hawaiian Islands in school, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth knowing.
1. The state gem isn’t actually a mineral at all. Black coral, a living animal, is commonly used to make jewelry.
2. Approximately 6 million tourists visit Hawaii every year, and spend a combined 11 billion dollars. Waikiki accounts for approximately 44 percent of those tourists.
3. Everyone knows about Hawaii’s eight main islands, but not everyone is aware that there are 124 small, uninhabited islands that are technically part of Hawaii as well.
Recently, six NASA researchers spent several months on the volcano’s northern slope, simulating a Mars space station.
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9. The first Asian American in the United States Senate was Hawaii’s Hiram Fong. A descendant of Chinese immigrants, he was elected to the senate in 1959.
10. The luau was first created in 1819, when King Kamehameha removed many religious laws that were practiced, including the rules that stated that men and women were to eat their meals separately.
13. A hundred years ago, two wallabies escaped from a private zoo on Oahu, and allegedly a small wallaby colony now inhabits the Kalihi Valley. Sightings are rare, and visitors are asked not to look for the wallabies on their own, as they are a delicate population.
