To ease the stress in these trying times, a good diversion might be to learn some amazing facts about our island home. Believe it or not:
There are more Mexicans in Hawaii than Hawaiians. There are 120,842 Mexicans, 80,337 Hawaiians.
Honolulu is closer to San Francisco than Los Angeles. San Francisco is 2,398 miles while Los Angeles is 2,556 miles. You could win a bet with this fact.
More than 25,000 people on the Big Island get food stamps, twice as many people than the combined populations of Waimea, Honokaa and Pahoa.
There is not one Republican in the state Senate, the only state in the country where this true. Out of the 76 legislators in Hawaii, only five are Republicans. The 1994 Republican candidate for congress was named Orson Swindle.
The State of Hawaii is the only state in the country with one school system. Substitute teachers in Hawaii generally take home more money per day than most regular teachers. They pay no fees, so keep more money. Kona is the only place on the Big Island where substitutes need a college degree to teach. Everywhere else the only requirement is to be 18 years old.
Each island has its own color: Hawaii is red, Maui is pink, Lanai orange, Kaho’olawe gray, Molokai green, Oahu is yellow, Kauai is purple, colors of local flowers. Niihau is white, the color of local puka shells.
The island of Kaho’olawe was bombed almost every night for decades. It is called the Target Island. The residents of Niihau once refused a Hawaii governor permission to visit the island.
There are more than 10 explanations for the origin of the shaka. They range from Hawaiians mimicking British officers polishing their brass buttons to some guy with two fingers waving his hand around.
There are more Hawaiians living in Nevada than on five of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiians really know how to party. At a luau, King Kamehameha III once had 271 pigs, 482 big bowls of poi, 5,000 fish and 2,245 coconuts. King Kalakaua invited 1,500 people to his 50th birthday luau.
Duke Kahanamoku won three Olympic gold medals and two silver medals in swimming. He was in 19 Hollywood movies and knew many big stars.
The Nene Goose arrived in the islands 500,000 years ago. It’s the loneliest bird in the world since the next bird didn’t show up until almost a half a million years later.
Peacocks and green parrots are wild in Hawaii. The wingspan of the Frigate bird, sometimes seen in Hawaii, is 16 feet, the size of the average pterodactyl.
From the sea floor, Maunakea is the largest mountain in the world.
Since the beginning of recording Hawaii hurricanes in 1841, there have been 65 hurricanes, not one ever hit Kona.
Amazing place we live in; lucky we live Hawaii.
Dennis Gregory writes a bi-weekly column for West Hawaii Today and welcomes your comments at makewavess@yahoo.com