{"id":16020,"date":"2013-08-25T03:08:01","date_gmt":"2013-08-25T03:08:01","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2013-08-24T19:08:37","modified_gmt":"2013-08-24T19:08:37","slug":"22-things-you-might-not-know-about-Hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=16020","title":{"rendered":"22 things you might not know about Hawaii"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hau`oli la Hanau Hawaii! Let’s celebrate with 22 facts about the Aloha State. <\/strong> <\/p>\n

1. If you guessed that “hau`oli la hanau” means “happy birthday,” you’re right.<\/strong> But you might need that sounded out: how-oh-lay la ha-now. The Hawaiian language comes with a bit of a learning curve. For starters, there’s only a 13-letter alphabet and every word\u2014and syllable\u2014ends with one of five vowels. <\/p>\n

2. That apostrophe-like mark you see in some words is called an ?okina.<\/strong> It’s a consonant that signifies a slight pause. If two words are spelled exactly alike, but one has an ?okina, you’re looking at two different words. For example, “moa” means “chicken,” while “mo’a” means “cooked.” <\/p>\n

3. The kahak? symbol is a line placed over a vowel.<\/strong> It directs speakers to stretch out a vowel sound. Speaking of which….<\/p>\n

A is pronounced \u201cah\u201d
\nE is pronounced \u201ceh\u201d
\nI is pronounced \u201cee\u201d
\nO is pronounced \u201coh\u201d
\nU is pronounced \u201coo\u201d<\/p>\n

4. The state of Hawaii consists of 8 main islands, the biggest of which is called, you guessed it, the Big Island.<\/strong> The Big Island’s official name is Hawai’i.<\/p>\n

5. The Big Island’s getting bigger\u2014by more than 42 acres each year\u2014thanks to K?lauea Volcano.<\/strong> It’s been erupting for 30 years!<\/p>\n

6. Mauna Loa, the world’s biggest volcano, is also on the Big Island.<\/strong> Astronauts once trained for moon voyages by walking on its hardened lava fields. Most recently, six NASA-funded researchers spent months on the northern slope simulating a Mars space station.<\/p>\n

7. Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows coffee, cacao, and vanilla beans. <\/strong>(Also: It can take up to five years to grow a single vanilla bean.)<\/p>\n

8. The Aloha State’s also good at growing … people.<\/strong> It’s got the highest life expectancy in the United States, despite the fact that…<\/p>\n

9. The people of Hawaii consume the most Spam per capita in the U.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n

10. The average life expectancy of 81.3 years might have something to do with the fact that the state’s healthcare system<\/strong> insures more than 90 percent of its residents and focuses on preventive care. Since 1975, businesses have been legally required to insure employees who work over 20 hours per week.<\/p>\n

11. No matter how old you are, only people with Hawaiian ancestry are called \u201cHawaiians.\u201d<\/strong> People of non-Hawaiian ancestry\u2014even those born and raised there\u2014call themselves \u201clocals.”<\/p>\n

12. One Hawaiian:<\/strong> Theridion grallator, also known as the happy face spider.<\/p>\n

13. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Hawaii has the highest percentage of Asian Americans (38.6 percent) and multiracial Americans (23.6 percent) in the United States.<\/strong> It also has the lowest percentage of White Americans (24.7 percent).<\/p>\n

14. Regardless of ancestry, most families traditionally celebrate a child’s first birthday with a luau.<\/strong><\/p>\n

15. No celebration’s complete without a lei.<\/strong> The flower garlands come with strict rules. For starters, it’s impolite to refuse a lei, remove it in front of the person who gave it to you, or wear one that you intend to give to someone else. A lei should never be thrown away. Instead, it should traditionally be returned to the earth, ideally to where its flowers were gathered. And it’s bad luck to give a tied lei to a pregnant woman, as it suggests an umbilical cord around a baby’s neck.<\/p>\n

16. There are no seagulls in Hawaii.<\/strong> The closest thing is the white tern, a seabird that lays eggs directly on tree branches without building a nest to protect them. <\/p>\n

17. Hawaii has its own time zone 10 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time.<\/strong> It’s also one of two U.S. states that doesn’t practice Daylight Saving Time. (Arizona’s the other one.)<\/p>\n

18. Barbecue aficionados in Hawaii prefer meat smoked with guava wood<\/strong>, instead of hickory or mesquite.<\/p>\n

19. The state gem isn’t a gem at all. Black coral is technically an animal<\/strong>, but it’s often used to make jewelry.<\/p>\n

20. The Aloha State is one of four that have outlawed billboards.<\/strong> (The others are Alaska, Maine, and Vermont.)<\/p>\n

21. Snakes are also outlawed.<\/strong> The only legal serpents are housed in zoos.<\/p>\n

22. When you picture a beautiful Hawaiian getaway, you might imagine a black or white beach.<\/strong> They also come in yellow, red, and green. <\/p>\n

By Amanda Green, Mental Floss<\/em>
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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