If you missed our first post on Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Maui, start there. If you’re all caught up on Maui trivia, here are ten more wonderful things about the lovely Aloha State that you may not have known before. Feel free to use these for upcoming game nights, dinner parties, homemade Jeopardy games, and your growing collection of (mostly) useless yet super interesting knowledge.
Ten (More) Facts About Hawaii:
1. On Maui alone, there are 10 state parks, 94 county parks and community centers, and 1 national park (Haleakala). Thanks, Mother Nature.
2. Hawaii is the only U.S. state whose land area is increasing, thanks to volcanic eruptions. The Big Island’s Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanos, has been continuously erupting since 1983. It’s definitely worth doing a Hawaii Volcanoes Tour when visiting.
3. It is illegal to own a snake as a pet in Hawaii. Since snakes have no natural predators in the state, they could cause harm to many other wildlife populations throughout the islands. Learn more about snakes in Hawaii.
4. Hawaii is one of only two U.S. states that does not observe Daylight Saving Time, along with Arizona. Hawaii gets so much sun all year long that there’s no benefit of gaining an hour of sunlight during the summer.
5. The highest sea cliffs in the world are located on the Hawaiian island of Molokai in the village of Kalaupapa, where thousands of people were quarantined after Hansen’s disease (leprosy) was introduced in the mid-1800s.
6. Hawaii is considered the most isolated population center on Earth. It is 2,400 miles from California, 3,800 miles from Japan, and 2,400 miles from the Marquesas Islands.
7. It is considered bad luck to take volcanic rocks and sand from Hawaii. Legend says that Pele, the goddess of fire and volcanoes, is so angered that she curses the thief with terrible revenge. Hundreds of visitors mail rocks back to Hawaii each year in the hope of ending their bad luck streak.
8. When Captain James Cook arrived as the first European in Hawaii in 1778, he was mistaken for Lono, god of fertility, due to his fortunately timed arrival during a sacred festival. Unfortunately for Cook, he was later killed when they realized he was not, in fact, a god.
9. Since ancient Hawaiian culture and traditions were predominantly passed on via storytelling, considered a sacred practice, listeners were not allowed to move once a story had begun. Learn more about storytelling at luaus in Maui.
10. In the 1960s, the Big Island’s Mauna Loa volcano was used for training astronauts, where the hardened lava fields are said to be very similar to the surface of the moon.
The Aloha State is truly a magnificent place and we hope you enjoy learning about it along with us!
All photos were taken by local photographer Natalie Brown.
