If you’ve been considering a Hawaii vacation, you’ve probably read brochures, noted advertising and browsed the Internet to learn as much as you can about this wonderful place.
The following is just some basic stuff that isn’t carried in promotion materials, but you might be glad to be aware of it while you’re here.
- The islands’ population is about a million and a half, with most of us living on Oahu, where Honolulu and Waikiki are located.
- It was Polynesian immigrants who settled the islands originally some 1,000 years ago, but nobody else was aware of them until Captain James Cook “discovered” them in 1778.
- Hawaii became a state in 1959.
- In the 19th century, Hawaii developed an export economy, based on the cultivation of sugar and pineapple. Today, that business has dwindled considerably, Hawaii exports very little, and tourism is the engine that runs the islands.
- Hawaii has the most advanced telecommunications system in the world. We’re among only five states with 100-percent digital switching for telephones. We have more fiber optic cable per mile, per capita, than any other state has.
- Hawaii is the only state in which coffee is grown.
- Hawaii is the widest state in the United States measuring from east to west.
- The Hawaiian Islands are the projecting tops of a mountain range. It’s the largest mountain range on earth. Under-sea volcanoes that erupted thousands of years ago formed the islands.
- Hawaii has its own time zone.
- There is no daylight savings time here. We are five hours later than the East coast; two hours later than the West Coast. During DST it’s six and three.
- Kilauea volcano, on the Big Island of Hawaii, remains the world’s most active.
- The world’s highest sea cliffs are on the island of Molokai.
Okay, those are hardly earth-shaking facts. But they’re good to know, aren’t they?
If you’re from Hawaii please add to our list – just add yours in the comment section below and we’ll post it right away:)