8 Fun Facts About Hawaii

Whether you're a first time visitor or a Hawaii local, these are some very interesting, unexpected, and fun facts about our favorite place in the world: Hawaii!

Hawaii Fun Facts

Beautiful beaches and sunshine aside, Hawaii has a remarkable history and story.

Let's start with 8 fascinating facts. I'll keep adding to this post weekly ^_^

1. Hawaii Has 2 Official & 1 Unofficial Languages

English and Hawaiian are the two official languages of Hawaii.

Pidgen (sometimes called Hawaii Creole English) is the unofficial language of Hawaii. It's an informal language the combines words from many other languages including Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and Portuguese.

You know how local food (like Saimin, Spam Musubi, and Shave Ice) is a combo of many different cultures that immigrated to Hawaii? The same goes for Pidgen! It's a combo of different cultures/languages in Hawaii.

2. The Hawaiian Alphabet Has 12 Letters.

There are 5 vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and 7 consonants (H, K, L, M, N, P, W).

There are two other very neat elements to the Hawaiian alphabet:

• Okina - This looks like a backwards apostrophe (you can see an okina in the Onolicious Hawaii logo :). The okina indicates a sound break.
• Macron - This is a straight bar over a vowel to indicate a long vowel.

3. We Have Our Own Time Zone

Neat, right? The Hawaii time zone is called Hawaiian Standard Time (HST).

Hawaii is 3 hours behind Pacific Standard Time starting the second Sunday in March. Hawaii is 2 hours behind Pacific Standard Time starting the first Sunday in November.

Bonus: Hawaii doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time. I had no clue what Daylight Savings Time was until after I moved to NYC. I still find the concept strange.

4. Famous Movies & Shows Filmed In Hawaii

Makes sense because Hawaii really is one of the most beautiful places in the world ^_^ A few famous ones include:

• Jurassic Park
• 50 First Dates
• Godzilla
• Hawaii Five-O (of course!)
• Lost

5. Famous People Born In Hawaii

Hawaii is an amazing place to raise a family. Did you know these people were born in Hawaii?

• Barack Obama - Obama went to Punahou which is home to the super delicious Punahou Carnival
• Nicole Kidman - Her dad was a graduate student at University of Hawaii. Her given Hawaiian name is Hokulani which means heavenly star.
• Steve Case - He also went to Punahou.
• Bette Midler - Her dad worked at the Navy base on Oahu. She grew up in Aiea, went to Radford High School and University of Hawaii.
• Bruno Mars - He went to Roosevelt High School.

6. Ala Moana Is The World's Largest Open-Air Mall

You must visit Ala Moana Center when you come to Hawaii. It is the most beautiful mall I've ever seen...and lucky for Honolulu locals, it's just a short drive away.

Ala Moana is home to three amazing food courts, tons of great shopping that mixes big brands and local brands. It's all open air and makes visiting the mall enjoyable (even for those of us that don't like to shop!) From local gems like Liliha Bakery to Musubi Cafe Iyasume, here's what to eat at Ala Moana Center.

P.S. Ala Moana is highly profitable mall, and ranks among the most successful malls in the world.

7. Big Island Is Getting Bigger

Big Island (which is also called the Island of Hawaii) grows by about 42 acres each year thanks to the Kilaeua Volcano.

Kilaeua is a live and active volcano (you can visit the volcano when you're on the Big Island)...it's been erupting for over 30 years.

8. Live In Hawaii, Live Long

Hawaii has the longest life expectancy rate in the US. It is 81.15 years.

Many factors contribute to this, but truly #luckywelivehawaii ^_^