1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,400 Speaker 1: Guess what, mengo, what's that? Well, so, you, of course 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: remember back in our Mental Floss days, and actually this 3 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: was our very early Mental Floss days, we did this 4 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: issue called the Most Important Questions in the History of 5 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: the Universe. I mean, how can I forget Like, we 6 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: answered some of the biggest, most important, most life changing 7 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: questions in the history of the universe, like uh, can 8 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: a pregnant women drive in a carpool lane? Or is 9 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: there most effective move in Rock paper scissors? It was 10 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: really important. Yeah, honestly, I don't know how the world 11 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: lived without knowing these answers. But one of the other 12 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: reader questions that we answered was why does Hawaii have 13 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,559 Speaker 1: interstate highways? Because you know, as cool as it may 14 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: sound to be able to drive across the ocean to 15 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: one of the Hawaiian islands, that's not possible obviously. As 16 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: it turns out, this goes back to the Eisenhower days 17 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: and specifically the Dwight D. Eisenhower system of interstate and 18 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,840 Speaker 1: National Defense highways, and this is when the funding came 19 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: to build Hawaii's interstates H one, H two, and H three, 20 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: and they were largely built as a way to move 21 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: supplies between military bases more easily, so the interstate designation 22 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: was really just a way to recognize that the roads 23 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: had been built from federal funding. I mean, Hawaii is 24 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: such an interesting history, and I've had so many other questions. 25 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: I've really been looking forward to this episode. Yeah, it 26 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: definitely is, and it's one of those places we think 27 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: we know more about than we actually do. So in 28 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: today's episode, we're gonna talk about some of why he's 29 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: fascinating history. We'll talk about some of the origins of 30 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: several things we associate with Hawaii, and share some facts 31 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: about the islands beyond just the beautiful beaches. So let's 32 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. 33 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my 34 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: good friend Manes Ticketer and on the other side of 35 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: the soundproof blast. It is actually kind of hard to 36 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: look at rocking the loudest Hawaiian shirt I think I 37 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: have ever seen. That's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. 38 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: It is truly a stunning amount of parents for a 39 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: single shirt, and for everybody listening, I do want to 40 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: point out that Will did use air quotes just now 41 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,359 Speaker 1: when he said Hawaiian shirt, just so you know, yeah, 42 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: trust me, I'm well aware that most people in Hawaii 43 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: tend to wear way fewer parrot shirts than Tristan does. 44 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: But this actually goes back to something I noticed while 45 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,359 Speaker 1: doing research for today's show, and that's how so many 46 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: of the things people associate with Hawaii, you know, the 47 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: tropical shirts, ukulele music, pineapples. I mean, He's really have 48 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 1: more to do with the foreign influence of the colonialists 49 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: and other outsiders than they do with native Hawaiian culture. 50 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: And that's what got me thinking it'd be fun to 51 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: take a closer look at some of the most iconic 52 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: aspects of Hawaiian really try to get a sense of 53 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: where they came from. Now, that way we can get 54 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: past the touristy conceptions of Hawaii is this dream vacation 55 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,519 Speaker 1: spot or real life garden of Eden, and and learn 56 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: more about what life on these islands is really like. Definitely, So, 57 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: so to start, I think we should give a quick 58 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: look on terms for how we'll be talking about the 59 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: people who live in Hawaii, because it's actually a little 60 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: trickier than it is for other states. Like I'm a 61 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: Georgian and you're an Alabamian, and that's just because of 62 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: where we live. But in Hawaii, the term Hawaiian is 63 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 1: generally reserved for people of native Hawaiian ancestry. In other words, 64 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: it's those people who descended from the indigenous people who 65 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: migrated to the islands from Polynesia over a thousand years ago. 66 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: And today people in Hawaii who don't share that ancestry 67 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: they go by a different name. So even if they 68 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: were born and raised in the state, they're known as 69 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: Hawaii residents or else simply as locals. And that's something 70 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: we'll try to keep in mind today, right And that 71 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: just thinks you will actually come in handy for this 72 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: next part, because I do want to circle back to 73 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: these Hawaiian shirts for for just a minute. You know, 74 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: despite Tristan's best effort, there's no denying that colorful Hawaiian 75 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: shirts were Aloha shirts as they're sometimes called there, widely 76 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: viewed by many as tacky, and I mean, they've even 77 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: kind of become this visual shorthand for the stereotype of, 78 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: you know, the crass, clueless tourists. But I was looking 79 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: into the history of these wearable postcards as one marketer 80 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: call them, and it turns out the shirts do have 81 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: some connections to the long standing cultural traditions. It's just 82 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: not quite Hawaii's. Yeah, I was gonna say it didn't. 83 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: Most Polynesian voyagers skip the whole shirt thing entirely, Like 84 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: it'd be hard to imagine them wearing long flowing shirts 85 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: while hopping from island to island. Yeah. So the real 86 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: story is that back in the eight eighties, American plantation 87 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: owners had already settled into the still sovereign Kingdom of Hawaii, 88 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: and as their grip on the local economy extended, these 89 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: plantation owners started recruiting low wage laborers, mostly from Asian countries, 90 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: and the majority of this influx was made up of 91 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: Japanese immigrants, and the brightly colored kimonos that they brought 92 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: with them actually served as the foundation for what would 93 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: later become the Hawaiian shirt. But actually, the Japanese culture 94 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: isn't the only influence. You've got the Chinese immigrants that 95 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: we're bringing these colorful silks. You had the Filipino families 96 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: that were adding a more relaxed look to the mix 97 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: by introducing to the islands these kind of these long 98 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: tunics that are traditionally worn untucked. So do the shirts 99 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: actually have any native Hawaiian influence at all? Like, what 100 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: about those patterns? So, as the islands became more and 101 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: more dominated by sugar and pineapple plantation, native fashion really 102 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: had to adapt to life in the fields. So while 103 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: most Hawaiians had still worn clothes made from lightweight tappa 104 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: cloth prior to the eighteen hundreds, now they needed something 105 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: more durable, and so the solution was a new kind 106 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: of fabric that had been introduced by the British and 107 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: American soldiers. And it was this kind of this blue 108 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: and white checker denim that the natives took to calling polaca, 109 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: and that's the Hawaiian word for frock. The natives put 110 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: their own spin on it as well. I mean they 111 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 1: cut off the shirt tails and gave the polacca a 112 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: straight hymn so it could be worn outside the pants. Okay, 113 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: So now I guess we have most the characteristics in place, right, Like, 114 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: like we've got these loose fitting shirts, they're worn on tucked, 115 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: and they're also made out of bright, silky, colorful fabrics. 116 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: I guess yeah, that's right. And so the only thing 117 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: left to do was shorten the sleeves and liven up 118 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: the patterns. And that's exactly what a University of Hawaiian 119 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: student named Gordon Young did back in the nineteen twenties, 120 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: or at least that's what his mother's dressmaker did. Apparently 121 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: she worked with Gordon to develop specially tailored shirts from 122 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: out of cotton Yukota cloth, and that's the fabric typically 123 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: used to make kimonos. Now. These custom shirts were mostly 124 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: white with black or blue patterns depicting bamboo stalks or 125 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: geometric patterns. So you know, think of these as the 126 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: forerunner of the prototype for the gaudier Hawaiian shirts that 127 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: we know today. And so from their Hawaii resident Taylor's 128 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,239 Speaker 1: picked up on the new fashion in the thirties and 129 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: it really began to popularize these Hawaiian shirts or aloha 130 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: sports where and they were using the same kimono material 131 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 1: that Gordon had used. But you're skipping the important parts, 132 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 1: like what about pineapple prints. Well, you know, for those 133 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: brighter colors and tropical prints, we have to look to 134 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: artists like Elsie Das And in nineteen thirty six, she 135 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: was commissioned by a local store to create these fifteen 136 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: original Hawaiian prints to be used on a new batch 137 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: of Aloha shirts. And then you had other artists that 138 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: followed her lead and also started drawing inspiration from the 139 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: islands where they lived, and so pretty soon Hawaiian shirts 140 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:28,239 Speaker 1: started to look a lot more tropical. Actually, I found 141 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: this great article on the subject by an author named 142 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,119 Speaker 1: Dale Hope, and as he explained, Elsie and others started 143 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: to create their own designs, substituting what had traditionally been 144 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 1: Japanese style motifs and prints on the imported fabrics. Diamond 145 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: head was substituted for Mount Fuji, Japanese pine trees changed 146 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: to coconut trees, and thatched huts with ocean scenes and surfers, 147 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: fish and flowers replaced bamboo. Well, I mean that description 148 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: definitely makes the whole wearable postcards thing ring true, right, 149 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: and since tourists are the buying postcards, it does make 150 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: sense that the shirts would play best in that crowd. 151 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: I am curious, though, what do natives and locals think 152 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: about them, because I imagine there's some mixed feelings over 153 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: something that, on the one hand, has very little to 154 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: do with Hawaiian culture, but on the other still brings 155 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: in tons of revenue for the islands. Yeah, it definitely does. 156 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: And and for the most part, I think you're right 157 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: about those mixed feelings. I mean, the kind of you know, 158 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: making lemons into lemonade mindset. It is really something that 159 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: pops up throughout Hawaiian history, and part of that's the 160 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: nature of colonization in general. But it's also just being 161 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: an island civilization. You know, the visitors are constantly coming 162 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: and going and kind of shaping and reshaping bits of 163 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: culture along the way. So when it comes to the 164 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 1: Hawaiian shirt, there was some pushback eventually. Actually, at one 165 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: point the shirts were completely banned for employees of Hawaii City, state, 166 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,199 Speaker 1: and federal offices, and even from banks and a lot 167 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: of corporate offices. And the thing was that the laid 168 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: back shirts would promote sloppiness at work. So I'm guessing 169 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,079 Speaker 1: casual fridays on a thing in hawai It's funny that 170 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: you mentioned that, because I actually read about this big 171 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: push in the sixties from Honolulu's fashion industry, and it 172 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: was called Operation Liberation. It was basically a campaign to 173 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: overturn the ban and and get office workers in Hawaii 174 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: to start wearing lighter, more comfortable clothing, especially when you 175 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: think about that humid climate that they have there. And 176 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: so part of this centered on the Aloha shirts, and 177 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,839 Speaker 1: in fact, some manufacturers even promoted the movement by giving 178 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: out two free shirts to every member of the state 179 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: Senate and House of Representatives. I like that. How did 180 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: this bribe actually work? It kind of did. Yeah, So 181 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: by nineteen sixty six, the government had relaxed its stance 182 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: and even began encouraging employees to wear the colorful shirts 183 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: on the last day of the work week, and these 184 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:47,679 Speaker 1: were dubbed Aloha Fridays. Then, once word of the practice 185 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: spread to the rest of the States, it was given 186 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: a more continental name and casual Fridays were born. Oh 187 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,679 Speaker 1: that's really amazing. So uh, if you don't mind, I 188 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 1: actually want to switch gears now and talk about a 189 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,680 Speaker 1: product of the islands whose Hawaiian ru are a lot 190 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,319 Speaker 1: more clear cut, and that's surfing. So the sport went 191 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: mainstream thanks largely to early twentieth century athletes like Duke 192 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 1: Khano Moku and he was a five time Olympic swimming 193 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,600 Speaker 1: medalists who later became a surfing ambassador and that's when 194 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: he started giving surfing demonstrations along the Southern coast in 195 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,679 Speaker 1: the nineteen tents. But while Duke is widely known as 196 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,599 Speaker 1: the father of surfing today, his ancient ancestors in the 197 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: Polynesian Islands actually practiced the sport long before him, and 198 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: to them it was much more than just a sport. 199 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: In the Hawaiian Islands, riding waves came to carry this 200 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: social and even religious importance. For example, when Hawaiian's found 201 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: a tree that they thought would make for good surfboards, 202 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: they would leave offerings that it's based before carving it up, 203 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,839 Speaker 1: and surfers also sought the help of special priests called kahunas, 204 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: who would help them pray for choice waves and even 205 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 1: give thanks after surviving and especially nasty wipeout. That's pretty interesting, 206 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: but it was still a sport then, too, right, definitely, 207 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: so ancient wavesliders would compete against each other over stuff 208 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: like who could ride the fastest or farthest, or who 209 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: could catch the biggest wave, and everybody got in on it, 210 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: like all Hawaiians were free to surf, regardless of age, gender, 211 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: or even social class. But to be fair that there 212 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: was a little classes m when it came to the 213 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: kind of board you could ride, so most people wrote 214 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: these alia boards, which were pretty thin, they weren't too big, 215 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: and somewhat comparable to modern short boards. But then there 216 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: were also these ones called olo boards, and they were 217 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,839 Speaker 1: these like humongous planks that only chieftains were allowed to use. 218 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,319 Speaker 1: And honestly, I have no idea how they wrote these 219 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,200 Speaker 1: things because olo boards were about twice as long as 220 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: today's long boards, which means, you know, um, they were 221 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: like eighteen to twenty feet on average. It's crazy. Oh 222 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: my god, just trying to imagine standing on something that's 223 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: eighteen feet long in the ocean. It's a I don't know, 224 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: I can't imagine doing that. But all right, So did 225 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: you get any sense for how old surfing is, because 226 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: it sounds like several centuries at least, right, So, nobody 227 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 1: knows for sure when this wave sledding got its start, 228 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 1: but the first written account of it goes back to 229 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: the seventeen seventies. Then it was clear even then that 230 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 1: the practice had already been around for a very long time. 231 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: In fact, I've read about this discovery a couple of 232 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: years back, where archaeologists uncovered a series of petroglyphs that 233 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: supposedly depict people's surfing, and the figures were carved into 234 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: sandstone along the coast of the island of Oahu, and 235 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 1: experts believe the markings are about four hundred years older, 236 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: so which is about two hundred years before Europeans first 237 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 1: made contact with Hawaii. All right, so there's no doubt 238 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: about it then. I mean, surfing is a true part 239 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: of native Hawaiian culture. And just to bring this full circle, 240 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: I actually learned while reading up on these aloha shirts 241 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,079 Speaker 1: that they share the same point of origin with board shorts, 242 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: which is that polacca cotton stuff I mentioned earlier. And 243 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: in the early days of surf culture in the twentieth century, 244 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: the serious surfers would go to these specialty Japanese tailor 245 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: shops in Hawaii and they'd order these custom fitted shorts 246 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: made from polacca cotton. So, just like with the field 247 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: workers of old Hawaii, these surfers needed something comfortable yet durable, 248 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,079 Speaker 1: and once again, paloca fit the bill. That's pretty cool, 249 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: and I know that a native Hawaiian would have their 250 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,960 Speaker 1: own thoughts about this, but as an outsider, I do 251 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,560 Speaker 1: really love how aspects of these different times in Hawaii's 252 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,640 Speaker 1: history tend to overlap and blur in places. It's kind 253 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: of a testament to the people of why vote, to 254 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 1: their endurance and to their ability to sort of roll 255 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: with the punches in order to preserve what matters to them. Oh. Absolutely, 256 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: And I think another interesting example of that overlap is 257 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: in the folklore surrounding the islands themselves. Like take Pelee 258 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,439 Speaker 1: for instance, as the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, is the 259 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,440 Speaker 1: subject of all sorts of legends. Some of them connect 260 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: with native Hawaiian mythology, and some of them are completely 261 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: made up just for the tourists. Well, I definitely want 262 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 1: to spend a few minutes dissecting which is wished. But 263 00:13:44,120 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: before we do, let's take a quick break. Welcome back 264 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: to Part Time Genius, and we're talking about the colorful, 265 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:05,680 Speaker 1: the complicated history of Hawaii. So well, I, I know 266 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: you've got a bizarre modern legend about Pale that you're 267 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: itching to talk about, but first I did want to 268 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:14,079 Speaker 1: share some of the real traditional folklore she's connected with. 269 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: For instance, did you know Pale can't stand pork products? 270 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: I can't say that I knew she had feelings for 271 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: them one way or other. But but what's the story here, 272 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: why does she not like pork? Well, this comes from 273 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: an old myth where Pale had a falling out with 274 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: one of her one time boyfriends. This guy come up 275 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: Poa and you know Kamapua right like, he's the Hawaiian 276 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: demigod who's half man half pig. Oh that kma Pa. 277 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: Sure of course I know, Okay, So appairly, when the 278 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 1: pair of split, Pale chased her old bow with a 279 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: lava flow until he's cornered on the windward side of Honolulu. 280 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: And then as the lava creeps closer, Kamapua lie down 281 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: on the ground and began to chant, and this causes 282 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 1: the earth and the trees to rise up and hold 283 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: back the lava until suddenly it rains and cools everything own. 284 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: So then Paley is like, all right, I guess I 285 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: can't kill you, So how about we just agree to 286 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 1: stay on separate sides of the island. And this sounds 287 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:10,720 Speaker 1: great to come up Pua, So he settles into lush, 288 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 1: green windward side and Paley takes the dry, arid leeward 289 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 1: side fair enough. So so you're saying Pale is still 290 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 1: holding a grudge against swine because of this, so to 291 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: this day, like visitors are warned not to bring pork 292 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: over the Polly highway that connects the leeward side to 293 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: the windward side. And since Kamapua was part pig, hauling 294 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: pork is a symbolic way of bringing him back to 295 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: Paley's turf. And if you try to do that, Pale 296 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: will do her best to stop you, Like you might 297 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 1: be called away on some emergency, or your car could 298 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: break down along the way, or if an old woman 299 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 1: with a dog should appear during your journey. That's actually 300 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 1: Pale offering you an easy way to dispose of your 301 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: forbidden pork. You could just feed it to the hungry 302 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: pop and be on your way and then do kind 303 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: of like that. With all her fiery wrath, Plee still 304 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: can't stand the thought of people wasting pork. I mean, beyond, 305 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: she's a pretty considerate raffle deity in a way. Yeah, 306 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: it's pretty amazing. So if you're looking to get on 307 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: her good side, Pale apparently loves gin or any quality whiskey, 308 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: or at least that's what one longtime Hawaii resident said, 309 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 1: because for nearly forty years, this woman named Leatris tried 310 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: to keep the Mauna Loa volcano from erupting by routinely 311 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: tossing bottles of gin into it while flying in a 312 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: small charter plane. So this is what Leetrice told reporter 313 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 1: in the eighties. She said, quote, I've come to respect 314 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: Madam Pale. I have a feeling that she wants to drink. 315 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: I can't say my blame or given some of the 316 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: rumors people have spread about her. And actually, for instance 317 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: one of these, have you heard of Paley's curse? It's 318 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 1: this idea that the goddess will inflict bad luck on 319 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: any visitor who takes rock, sand, or other natural artifacts 320 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: from the Hawaiian islands. But while you're pale pork legend 321 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: got it start as a native Hawaiian tall tale. Pale's 322 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:56,080 Speaker 1: curse is actually just this modern myth that was likely 323 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: started by a resentful park ranger. So and now that 324 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: you explained that, I actually do you remember reading something 325 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: about this for our park Ranger episode? Like it was 326 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,360 Speaker 1: a warning they gave tourists to try and keep them 327 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 1: from taking home all these volcanic rocks as keepsakes, right, yeah, 328 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,200 Speaker 1: that's the theory, although some people maintain it was actually 329 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: something that tour guides told visitors so they wouldn't drag 330 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: a bunch of rocks and sand onto their busses and 331 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,160 Speaker 1: places like that. But regardless, the curse has been propagated 332 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 1: by guide books and travel websites, and this has gone 333 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: on for decades now, so so that hundreds of visitors 334 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,360 Speaker 1: now send thousands of pounds of rocks back to Hawaii 335 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 1: every single year, just in an attempt to ease their 336 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: guilty consciences and reverse their bad fortune. I like that 337 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,440 Speaker 1: once again, there's like an easy way to break the curse. 338 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: I feel like ple is just a big softie. Maybe so, 339 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: But you know, when the legend first started circulating in 340 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,400 Speaker 1: the mid nineteen forties, there was no mention of returning 341 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 1: what you stole as a way to change your fortune. 342 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,919 Speaker 1: And all that bit of wishful thinking was actually added 343 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,360 Speaker 1: later by tourists who were just desperate for a way 344 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,679 Speaker 1: to explain and and maybe fix the problems in their lives. 345 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: So now all these packages are frantically sent to Hawaiian 346 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: post offices and town halls, even directly to the Hawaii volcanoes. 347 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: National Park and a lot of the time the bits 348 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: of rock or sand. They're accompanied by these heartfelt letters 349 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,360 Speaker 1: and they describe the bad luck that the senders hope 350 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:20,919 Speaker 1: to undo. And some of the stuff is really heavy, 351 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 1: like you can find people writing about bounce of cancer 352 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: or divorce or jail time. And then you get these 353 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: other letters which are just hard not to laugh at, 354 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,520 Speaker 1: Like I came across this one that reads, we won 355 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: the six hundred thousand dollar lottery. We would have won 356 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,479 Speaker 1: the two million dollar lottery if it wasn't for this, 357 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 1: Please take the rocks back before more bad luck. I mean, 358 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: it does sound a bit like a double edged swords right, like, 359 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: on on one hand, some letters are probably gonna be 360 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: pretty entertaining or maybe even inspiring, But on the other hand, like, 361 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:52,399 Speaker 1: how frustrating must it be to have to deal with 362 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: this endless dream of stolen rocks and apology letters from 363 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,679 Speaker 1: guilty touris just coming your way? Oh totally it. But 364 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: you know, I do want to mention that even though 365 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: Pale's curses a modern invention it it does have some 366 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: roots in real Hawaiian mythology. I read this great piece 367 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,399 Speaker 1: in Pacific Standard where they talked to the director of 368 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:13,720 Speaker 1: the University of Hawaii at Manoahs Center for Hawaiian Studies, 369 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,880 Speaker 1: and she helps trace some of the connections in this way. 370 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 1: She says, rocks in Hawaii have their own personalities, male 371 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:23,879 Speaker 1: and female. They don't like to be disturbed. Rocks in 372 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,760 Speaker 1: the volcano are made by Pele and they are kapu. 373 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,400 Speaker 1: That is, they have a kind of sanctity, and it's 374 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: definitely bad luck to take them away from the volcano. 375 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,399 Speaker 1: I mean, that's interesting. But in this case, if returning 376 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: the items doesn't break the curse, does that mean people 377 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,439 Speaker 1: are just stuck with their bad luck of missing winning 378 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: the lottery by millions forever? But I wanted about that too, 379 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: and I actually found some pretty sage advice on the subject. 380 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: And this was from a retired historian at the University 381 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: of Hawaii, and she says, if you took a stone, 382 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: perhaps unknowingly or without meaning disrespect, I would recommend a 383 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,359 Speaker 1: ceremony rather than sending the rocks back, just say release 384 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: me from this kapu. Just let it go. Well, that's 385 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: definitely a better option and a cheaper one than mailing 386 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:09,119 Speaker 1: rocks to park rangers. But you know, given the way 387 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 1: Hawaii became a state in the first place. There is 388 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,119 Speaker 1: something sort of ironic about sending back the stolen pieces 389 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:17,800 Speaker 1: of Hawaii back to you know, this island that was 390 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:19,800 Speaker 1: taken away from the people. Yeah, I know what you mean. 391 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: And without getting to dour, I do think we should 392 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,199 Speaker 1: address the elephant in the room and and talk a 393 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,680 Speaker 1: little bit about Hawaii became part of the US to 394 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,479 Speaker 1: begin with, because this year actually marks the hundred and 395 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:34,920 Speaker 1: twenty fifth anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Now, 396 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: prior to that time, Hawaii was recognized internationally as a 397 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: sovereign nation, and it was under the rule of Queen 398 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: Lily Okolani, and she had inherited the throne from her 399 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:47,639 Speaker 1: brother just two years earlier. But Hawaii's fertile volcanic soil 400 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,359 Speaker 1: and close proximity of the States had long made at 401 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: this tempting target for a coup. Still, the Hawaiian Kingdom 402 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,120 Speaker 1: might have been able to maintain its sovereignty if not 403 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: for interference from Sanford Dole and his fellow American businessmen. 404 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,159 Speaker 1: I know this is crazy to think about it because 405 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:05,399 Speaker 1: for anyone wondering, yes, this is Sanford Dol as in 406 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 1: the Dole Food Company, or you might know him as 407 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: the world famous pineapple producers. But he and other American 408 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,160 Speaker 1: plantation owners were making a killing in Hawaii already, and 409 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,679 Speaker 1: that was thanks to their enormous crops of sugar and 410 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,320 Speaker 1: coffee and pineapples there. But as a way to exert 411 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,360 Speaker 1: even more control of the kingdom, Dole partnered with these 412 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:25,639 Speaker 1: other businessmen and lawyers to form what they called the 413 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 1: Hawaiian League, and in seven the group sent this armed 414 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,400 Speaker 1: militia to David Kalakaua, the king of Hawaii at the time, 415 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: and this was at gunpoint. The king was actually forced 416 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 1: to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transferred most of the 417 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,480 Speaker 1: monarchy's power to the legislature, which is a ruling body 418 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 1: whose elections were already being rigged to favor non Hawaiians. 419 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:49,479 Speaker 1: And a few years later, when Lilio Kulani took the throne, 420 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:53,160 Speaker 1: she actually refused to honor the Bayonet agreement and instead 421 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,159 Speaker 1: tried to build support for a new constitution, one that 422 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: we returned power to the monarchy, which you know, of course, 423 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: as thing Dole and the other American businessmen were not 424 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: happy about. And so that's why in January of eightee, 425 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: this so called Committee of Safety. It was led by Dole, 426 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: and they gathered and wait near the Queen's palace. Soon 427 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 1: they were joined by three hundred marines from the USS 428 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,400 Speaker 1: Boston and they've been called in to protect Dole's committee 429 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: by the U S Minister of Hawaii. And it was 430 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:24,440 Speaker 1: a really pivotal move. So the action provided this tacit 431 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 1: approval for the coup from the US government, and it 432 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: also left Queen Lily Okolani with no choice but to 433 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: surrender in order to avoid outright war. Yeah, and the 434 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:35,480 Speaker 1: part that always gets me is that she never gave 435 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,680 Speaker 1: up hope that the US government would come to its 436 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,639 Speaker 1: senses and recognize her as Hawaii's constitutional monarch, but of 437 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,439 Speaker 1: course that never happened. So the president at the time 438 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: was Benjamin Harrison, and he was all for annexing the 439 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: Hawaiian Islands after the coup, and although Grover Cleveland objected 440 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,200 Speaker 1: to the whole affair, once he took office, he actually 441 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 1: failed to stop this takeover of Hawaii. He did recommend 442 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: the queen be restored to her throne, but congres US 443 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,879 Speaker 1: ultimately rejected the proposal and instead Sanford dol took control 444 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:06,880 Speaker 1: of the illegal provisional government that he helped install in Hawaii. 445 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 1: He even declared himself the de facto president of what 446 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 1: he started to call the Republic of Hawaii. Yeah, the 447 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 1: whole thing is really bizarre, and especially when you consider 448 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,160 Speaker 1: the rest of the world was watching as this unfolded, 449 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,639 Speaker 1: and you know, even our own president admitted that the 450 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,639 Speaker 1: takeover had been illegal. I mean, listen to these lines 451 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,880 Speaker 1: from an account President Cleveland later wrote of this whole ordeal. 452 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,159 Speaker 1: He said, the provisional government owes its existence to an 453 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: armed invasion by the United States by an act of war. 454 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:37,199 Speaker 1: A substantial wrong has been done. It is wild to 455 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 1: hear that and to know that nothing was ever done 456 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: to fix it, and in fact, just the opposite, because 457 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 1: it was the administration right after Cleveland that declared Hawaii 458 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 1: US territory, and of course, about sixty years later it 459 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: officially became the fiftieth state. But before we get into 460 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 1: any of that or the amazing ways Hawaii and the 461 00:23:54,560 --> 00:24:11,160 Speaker 1: US have influenced each other, let's take a quick break. Okay, Well, 462 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: so give us the bad news. Who else is colonized 463 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,439 Speaker 1: Hawaii besides of the Americans? All right, Well, it's not 464 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: so much who else as it is what else, Because 465 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: despite the fact that the islands are over two thousand 466 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:24,879 Speaker 1: miles from the nearest continent, they've actually been colonized over 467 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,719 Speaker 1: and over throughout history. It's just that most of the 468 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 1: time it's far flung plants and animals doing the colonizing 469 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: and not humans. And so the net result of this 470 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 1: is bio diversity beyond your wildest dreams, but sometimes at 471 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: the sad cost of the island's own indigenous species. Yeah. 472 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 1: I remember hearing some stats about how many indangered species 473 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,159 Speaker 1: there are in Hawaiian The numbers were pretty insane, Like 474 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: when you added up all the plants and animals and 475 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: insects on the list, it was something like five d 476 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: different endangered species just in Hawaii. Yeah. I was looking 477 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,119 Speaker 1: at some of those numbers on Hawaii dot gov, and 478 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,679 Speaker 1: according to the state's Forestry on Wildlife Division, the islands 479 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: contain roughly forty of our entire countries endangered and threatened 480 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,439 Speaker 1: plant species. And that's despite the fact that Hawaii accounts 481 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,400 Speaker 1: for less than one percent of the total land mass 482 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:14,720 Speaker 1: in the US. I mean, it really points to just 483 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,600 Speaker 1: how frequently foreign species have muscled their way into the 484 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: Hawaiian ecosystem, not to mention the domino effect damage that 485 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: sometimes causes for other species. It's it's really a pretty 486 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: tricky problem, no kidding. Like, did you hear about this 487 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,679 Speaker 1: invasive species of tiny frogs called the cookie? Apparently the 488 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,440 Speaker 1: little guys are wreaking havoc on Hawaii's Big Island. I 489 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,480 Speaker 1: guess their native to Puerto Rico, but scientists think a 490 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: few found their way over in the nineteen eighties, probably 491 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 1: by hiding out in some potted plants. Anyway, they've just 492 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:46,199 Speaker 1: exploded ever since because there aren't any natural predators to 493 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,199 Speaker 1: help control of the population. And in fact, one study 494 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:52,200 Speaker 1: reported that the cokey population in Hawaii is now three 495 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: times greater than the one in Puerto Rico, which means 496 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:59,160 Speaker 1: there are now between ten thousand and fifty thousand frogs 497 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,120 Speaker 1: per acre on the Big Island. Good lord, I mean 498 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:05,480 Speaker 1: that's like plague level amount of frogs. All right. So, 499 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,120 Speaker 1: just to play Devil's advocate on this, like, let's assume 500 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,520 Speaker 1: that I love the idea of having frogs absolutely everywhere, 501 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:16,040 Speaker 1: So is there another downside of this? Well, for one thing, 502 00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:18,399 Speaker 1: the thriving frogs and put a serious damp around the 503 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 1: islands once plentiful bug population, including a few of those 504 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,160 Speaker 1: endangered species we've been talking about, And some biologists are 505 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 1: even worried that the lack of bugs could cause native 506 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:30,359 Speaker 1: bird species to starve. And of course there's also the 507 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 1: fact that the frogs are driving down property values, which 508 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,480 Speaker 1: is always a nuisance for humans. Bit it sounds like 509 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: these things are pretty much everywhere. Like are they decreasing 510 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,800 Speaker 1: property values all over the island? I mean, because remember 511 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: I love frogs everywhere, so condos on the coast are 512 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: going for super cheap prices. I actually might need to 513 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 1: look into this well before you sign any das you 514 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,919 Speaker 1: should probably know one other thing about cookie frogs, and 515 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: that's that, despite the fact that they're only about the 516 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 1: size of a quarter, they constantly emit this high pitched 517 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: i that can reach up to ninety decibels, which is 518 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,280 Speaker 1: about the volume of a lawnmower or a motorcycle that's 519 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,639 Speaker 1: a few yards away. Yeah, and it's actually where the 520 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: frogs get their name cookie. Like the annoying sound that 521 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 1: they make sounds a lot like cocyte. So in areas 522 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: that are overrun with frogs, the property values are taking 523 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:21,200 Speaker 1: a big hit, and it's because everybody knows that whoever 524 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:22,760 Speaker 1: winds up living there is never going to get a 525 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,320 Speaker 1: good night's sleep. Again, you did such a great impression 526 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:28,880 Speaker 1: of their noise. It sounds just like cokeye, except higher pitch. 527 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: I think, right, right, that does sound like a nightmare, 528 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: Like are the locals doing anything to combat the problem 529 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,360 Speaker 1: or if they just kind of thrown the towel in. Yeah, 530 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:39,480 Speaker 1: I mean people used to hunt them back when the 531 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:41,919 Speaker 1: problem first started to kind of try to control it, 532 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,439 Speaker 1: and this was around the mid two thousand's, but it 533 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 1: quickly became clear that that was never going to work, 534 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:51,040 Speaker 1: and nowadays most people concentrate on containing the frogs to 535 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 1: certain areas and try to prevent them from expanding deeper 536 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 1: into the rainforest. And apparently there's also a contingent of 537 00:27:57,560 --> 00:27:59,879 Speaker 1: folks who try to catch the cokie and ship them 538 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: back to Puerto Rico, but again it's kind of a 539 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:05,840 Speaker 1: losing battle. Yeah, you might be right about that, because 540 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 1: you know, the frog troubles actually sound a lot like 541 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:09,959 Speaker 1: another case I read about. This is over on the 542 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: island of Kauai. Apparently the whole place is just loaded 543 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:17,160 Speaker 1: with these feral chickens, and scientists say it's probably because 544 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:22,080 Speaker 1: of Hurricane and Nikki. The storm tore through Kauai, and 545 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,880 Speaker 1: in the process it also released a ton of chickens 546 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:28,679 Speaker 1: from people's backyard coops, and these domestic birds fled to 547 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:31,760 Speaker 1: the islands dense forest, and they reverted back to this 548 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,439 Speaker 1: wild state and began mating with remnants of Kawai's Polynesian 549 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 1: jungle foul population. And again, due to the lack of 550 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: natural predators, the chickens thrive to the point that there 551 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: were thousands and thousands of them spread all over the island. Well, 552 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: I'm delighted by the idea of a chicken island, But 553 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,480 Speaker 1: how do their residents feel about this? Well, they were 554 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: more than a little bit annoyed at first, and especially 555 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: when they realized that the chickens seemed to lack all 556 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,840 Speaker 1: sense of time and which just randomly crow at all 557 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 1: hours of the day, though not at the ninety deciples, thankfully. 558 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,080 Speaker 1: But you know, just like with the frogs, people eventually 559 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:08,880 Speaker 1: grew to accept them as a fact of life. It's 560 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: actually kind of that same lemonade from Lemon's mentality that 561 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,280 Speaker 1: we talked about earlier with the Hawaiian shirts and other things, 562 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 1: but like, having chickens all over the place isn't ideal. 563 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: I mean, they're loud and they're dirty, but on the 564 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:23,080 Speaker 1: bright side, they keep harmful pest in line and the 565 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 1: tourists are completely charmed by these wildfowl running around, So 566 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:29,760 Speaker 1: you know, the locals will describe the chickens is everything 567 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: from beautiful birds to these god awful rats with wings, 568 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: and everybody can at least agree that they're great for 569 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: moving merchandise. Though, can I just say that, while I 570 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: totally get how annoying it would be to have some 571 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: island hopping animal running buck your ecosystem, like I do 572 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 1: like the idea that these different islands of different animals 573 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,840 Speaker 1: associated with them, Yeah, I mean annoyances aside. I think 574 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,520 Speaker 1: it is fun that certain islands are just completely stocked 575 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 1: with their own signature animals, Like the Big Island is 576 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:59,160 Speaker 1: the Frog Kingdom, Kauai is the Chicken Coast, and there's 577 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,440 Speaker 1: also Lena, which is this tiny Hawaiian island that boasts 578 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 1: a population of I think it's only about three thousand people, 579 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 1: but it's also home to four or five hundred feral cats. 580 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,720 Speaker 1: You know, while being stranded on a tiny island teeming 581 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:15,480 Speaker 1: with feral cats sounds like pretty much the worst thing 582 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 1: imaginable to me. I can still appreciate the fact that 583 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: it exists, you know, as long as I'm far far 584 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: away from it. So, you know, we we've talked a 585 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,040 Speaker 1: lot about colonizing species that have made themselves at home 586 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,240 Speaker 1: on the islands, but I do want to shift the 587 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: focus back to the native side of things and talk 588 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 1: just a little bit about the Hawaiian parrot fish. You mean, 589 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:37,120 Speaker 1: these are the creepy fish with the beaks, right, So 590 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: maybe it's not the best poster boy for the islands, 591 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,640 Speaker 1: but uh, you know, those islands wouldn't be the same 592 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: without the parrot fish, and more specifically, their prized beaches 593 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:51,040 Speaker 1: would be little more than bare volcanic rock without parrot fish. 594 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 1: So why why is this the case? Okay, so this 595 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:56,600 Speaker 1: probably won't win you over on parrot fish. But you 596 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: know those beak like teeth that you find off putting, 597 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,400 Speaker 1: Well those are actually used in Norway at algae that 598 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 1: grow on coral, which happens to be the parrot fish's 599 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 1: favorite snack. And the problem is sometimes the fish accidentally 600 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,720 Speaker 1: nibble off a piece of coral and wind up ingesting 601 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: its calcium carbonate by mistake, and because the parrot fish 602 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: can't digest the bulk of the substance, it eventually excretes 603 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: it as sand. Wait, so you're saying that's the sand 604 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,560 Speaker 1: that winds up on Hawaii's beaches like that? There's no way, 605 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,320 Speaker 1: I mean, how much sand could have fish possibly poop out? 606 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,600 Speaker 1: So it's somewhere around eight pounds per fish per year 607 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:35,480 Speaker 1: according to this. Yeah, this is according to a marine 608 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,920 Speaker 1: biologist named lingong And in an interview for Why And, 609 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: she pointed out that quote. In places like Hawaii, where 610 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 1: we have very little terrestrial input of sand, almost all 611 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 1: of our sand is of biological origin. So I like 612 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:50,520 Speaker 1: to tell people that sand you're standing on in Hawaii 613 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: has probably gone to the gut of something. It'll have 614 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: gone through the gut of a parrot fish, a sea urchin, 615 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,640 Speaker 1: or some kind of worm. Well, I mean, strangely enough, 616 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 1: turning fish poop into beautiful sandy beaches. It does seem 617 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: like a pretty fitting metaphor for the Hawaiian approach to 618 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,960 Speaker 1: all of its problems. Really, because while Native Hawaiians and 619 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 1: residents of Hawaii face their share of injustices and hardships 620 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:14,520 Speaker 1: over the years, they've always managed to foster some of 621 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,240 Speaker 1: the most vibrant cultures amidst some of the most stunning 622 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:20,440 Speaker 1: environments in the world. And that alone makes me proud 623 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,440 Speaker 1: that Hawaii is part of my country, even if you 624 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,320 Speaker 1: know I'm not always thrilled about how it wound up 625 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: that way. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And also, don't forget, 626 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: Hawaii is the state that gave the world POGs, so 627 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: that alone makes it worthy of praise. So I'm not 628 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:36,600 Speaker 1: so sure about your love of stackable cardboard circles, but um, 629 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:38,239 Speaker 1: who knows, Maybe you can win me over with some 630 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 1: facts in the day's fact off. H alright, mango, So 631 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:49,680 Speaker 1: I remember you were a big fan of the TV 632 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:51,880 Speaker 1: show Hawaii five oh, or at least I like to 633 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:54,320 Speaker 1: tell people that you were a fan of Hawaii five oh. 634 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 1: And many of our listeners may know this is where 635 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,000 Speaker 1: referring to police as five oh comes from. But actually 636 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,520 Speaker 1: didn't realize that the show was called Hawaii five oh 637 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 1: simply because Hawaii was the fiftieth state to join the country. 638 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 1: I don't know how this never occurred to me. I 639 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,680 Speaker 1: know me either, So this is my fact. The seventh 640 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: largest island in Hawaii is owned by two guys and 641 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 1: they're actually brothers. They inherited it from their grandmother who 642 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: had purchased it from the Kingdom of Hawaii. And this 643 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:23,800 Speaker 1: was way back in eighteen sixty four, around ten thousand 644 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,800 Speaker 1: dollars in gold. Obviously that's a ton of money. But 645 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,760 Speaker 1: these brothers still own it. And speaking of a ton 646 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,040 Speaker 1: of money, the US has reportedly tried to buy back 647 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:35,080 Speaker 1: the island from the brothers for about a billion dollars 648 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:38,240 Speaker 1: and they've turned it down. God, that is a ton 649 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: of money. I think I would accept a billion dollars 650 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 1: if I owned an island, So I forget. Are you 651 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:47,800 Speaker 1: a fan of Hawaiian pizza? Me too? Well, we've mentioned 652 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:50,000 Speaker 1: this before, but it was invented in Canada by a 653 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,200 Speaker 1: couple of Greek guys. But I feel like we need 654 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:54,280 Speaker 1: to add a fact to that, and because you can 655 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 1: really never have enough good facts about Hawaiian pizza, and 656 00:33:57,800 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 1: that's the fact that it's the most popular style of 657 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,800 Speaker 1: pizza in Australia that actually accounts for around of all 658 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,360 Speaker 1: their pizza sales. So have you heard about the time 659 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 1: the US government burned two hundred million dollars in Hawaiian cash. 660 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:13,960 Speaker 1: This was way back in the nineties, not long after 661 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:16,920 Speaker 1: the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the US government started 662 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,600 Speaker 1: worrying about what happened if Japan invaded Hawaii, and one 663 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:22,360 Speaker 1: of the things they thought about was the money on 664 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,960 Speaker 1: the islands. If Japan invade the island and then took 665 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:27,359 Speaker 1: all the cash there, how would the government know where 666 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:29,880 Speaker 1: the cash had come from when they decided to use it. 667 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:33,040 Speaker 1: So to protect against this, the US actually recalled all 668 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:36,040 Speaker 1: paper money in Hawaii and asked everyone to trade their 669 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: bills in for others that had the word Hawaii stamped 670 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:41,640 Speaker 1: on it. So then what to do with that two 671 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:44,719 Speaker 1: million dollars they've managed to collect from the people. They 672 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 1: actually decided to burn it, and they did this in 673 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:52,280 Speaker 1: crematoriums and furnaces around the island, And only a tiny 674 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,759 Speaker 1: number of the bills are still in circulation. But if 675 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:56,919 Speaker 1: you manage to get your hands on a twenty dollar 676 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:00,320 Speaker 1: Hawaii overprint bill from that time, it's actually worth about 677 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:04,600 Speaker 1: four thousand dollars today. Wow, I've never heard that story before. 678 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:07,319 Speaker 1: All right, so quick one here. Hawaii is the only U. 679 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:10,600 Speaker 1: S state to have two official languages. You've got English 680 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 1: and Hawaii. Interestingly, the language only has thirteen letters and 681 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:18,520 Speaker 1: every word ends with one of five vowels. So despite 682 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,320 Speaker 1: consuming the most spam per capita, Hawaii has the longest 683 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:24,279 Speaker 1: life expectancy of the fifty states at eighty one point 684 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:28,560 Speaker 1: three years, and that edges Minnesota, which I guess makes 685 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:32,600 Speaker 1: sense since they also invented spam. Oh wow, Yeah, it's 686 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,520 Speaker 1: good connection there. What's amazing to me that the state 687 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,520 Speaker 1: known as maybe having the most desirable weather is also 688 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:42,399 Speaker 1: the state where the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation 689 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,239 Speaker 1: Program decided to keep a crew in a bubble for 690 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:48,400 Speaker 1: an entire year. Back in two thousand and sixteen, a 691 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,719 Speaker 1: group of six crew members walked out of the Mars 692 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 1: simulator mission in Hawaii after a twelve month stay on 693 00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:56,920 Speaker 1: the slopes of Mount a Looa, the famous volcano. The 694 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,080 Speaker 1: habitat is supposedly pretty martian like, or at least this 695 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:02,160 Speaker 1: martian like as you can find in the States. And 696 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 1: I don't know, though, I feel like after a couple 697 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:06,200 Speaker 1: of weeks there, I'd be like, I don't know, guys, 698 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 1: I'm headed out to the beach too much. Yeah, I 699 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:12,239 Speaker 1: me too. But speaking of Hawaiian volcanoes, one of the 700 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,560 Speaker 1: crazy geological features there that most people don't know about 701 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:19,399 Speaker 1: is the icy underworld inside some of the volcanoes. So 702 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:22,600 Speaker 1: these lava tubes can actually be found on Mauna Loa. 703 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,640 Speaker 1: Because of their high elevation and the way the air circulates, 704 00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:29,000 Speaker 1: the perfect conditions for permanent ice are formed there. It's 705 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:31,320 Speaker 1: just crazy to think about the hundreds of thousands of 706 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:33,680 Speaker 1: people visiting each year to see the world's largest act 707 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,799 Speaker 1: of volcano and having zero idea that under all that 708 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:39,520 Speaker 1: rock you'd find ice tunnels. It's pretty cool, you know. 709 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,680 Speaker 1: I don't know, Mango, just you using the phrase Earth's 710 00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:45,880 Speaker 1: pretty cool, you know. I feel like that. Uh, I 711 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:47,839 Speaker 1: feel like that earns you the fact off. No matter 712 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:49,719 Speaker 1: what you said, even though that is a really cool 713 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: facts I'm gonna give you today's fact off trophy. I 714 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,640 Speaker 1: knew that would seal the deal. But thank you, well, 715 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:57,759 Speaker 1: thank you guys so much for listening. I'm sure there 716 00:36:57,760 --> 00:36:59,960 Speaker 1: are some great facts about Hawaii that we didn't get 717 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,640 Speaker 1: to include in today's episode. We'd love to hear those from. 718 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:04,839 Speaker 1: You can always email as part time genius at how 719 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:07,200 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. You can always call us on 720 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:11,240 Speaker 1: our seven fact hotline one eight four four pt Genius 721 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:13,680 Speaker 1: or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter. But thanks 722 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 1: so much for listening. Thanks again for listening. Part Time 723 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:32,080 Speaker 1: Genius is a production of how stuff works and wouldn't 724 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:34,880 Speaker 1: be possible without several brilliant people who do the important 725 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:38,000 Speaker 1: things we couldn't even begin to understand. Tristan McNeil does 726 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:40,319 Speaker 1: the editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme song and 727 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:43,279 Speaker 1: does the mixy mixy sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the 728 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:46,720 Speaker 1: exact producer thing. Gabeluesier is our lead researcher, with support 729 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:49,600 Speaker 1: from the Research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and 730 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:51,840 Speaker 1: Lucas Adams and Eve Jeff Cook gets the show to 731 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:54,319 Speaker 1: your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like what you heard, 732 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,360 Speaker 1: we hope you'll subscribe, And if you really really like 733 00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:58,320 Speaker 1: what you've heard, maybe you could leave a good review 734 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:00,920 Speaker 1: for us. Do we do we forget you? Jason who