Justin says:

Fun list of facts. The statement about Alaska being the easternmost state had me stumped. To save others the trouble, I found this explanation:

“Fascinatingly, Alaska is the state that is farthest north, east, and west while Hawaii is farthest south. The reason that Alaska is farthest east and west is due to the fact that the Aleutian Islands cross the 180° meridian of longitude, placing some of the islands actually in the Eastern Hemisphere and thus degrees east of Greenwich (and the Prime Meridian).”
http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqznewsstates.htm

Looking forward to the giant leap forward you mention.

Faylinn says:

I’m not sure whether or not I would call the Japanese attacking and occupying parts of Alaska as a real estate fact. However, it sure is interesting to me and makes me wonder whether or not anyone lived on those islands. Do you know whether or not there were any people or houses that the Axis Powers were able to take control of there during WWII? Or, perhaps, whether or not they built houses themselves over there?

Janet McCord says:

Love these! Do you mind if we share on our social media page?

Kerissa Savea says:

Hi Seth! Thanks for the 411, this was such a fantastic read! I think my favorite has to be the one about Monopoly. I died laughing about the “broken nature” of capitalism!
The one that literally made my jaw drop, tough, was the one about Japan’s crazy employment and housing!! I had no idea!
Of course, when you’re born and raised in a place with near-perfect climate year round and a finite amount of SF (well, on all but the Big Isle, haha), you kinda always see real estate and the associated values therefor, a liiiittle different, haha!
Speaking of my home here on the main-in-the-island-chain, the hottest former hotspot – the beautiful Oahu– I’ve got some cool facts that you might wanna add to your awesome list!

1) Hawaii is the only state you can’t drive to, from, or drive from, to!

2) Hawaii is often referred to by locals (I do it when I’m trying to feel cool, haha) as the “808 State” because we’re the only state with a single area code.

3) When measuring the city limits of Honolulu according to the definition found in Hawaii’s State Constitution, Honolulu is the world’s largest city, spanning 15,000 miles! I know, you’re wondering, “How’d they figure that?!”
Well, it’s thanks to language that says any island that doesn’t have its own county shall be part of Honolulu county, so aaaaallll of the archipelago-type islands that surround the main 8 are considered “Honolulu,” and when you stretch the borders out to the very last little sand spot, that’s about the distance from LA to Colorado!

4) Hawaii is the only state that keeps adding SF to its total, thanks to it being the home of the world’s most active volcano, Kilauea (pronounced kih-LAH-way-ah), on Hawaii island (or the “Big Island”).
The Big Island is also the home of Mauna Kea which is the tallest mountain in the world (when measured from base on ocean floor), atop which sits the largest telescope in the world!

5) This one might be the biggest shocker, ready? The largest contiguous ranch in the US isn’t in Texas, nope, it’s right here – or, right there, haha – on the Big Island!
Clocking in at approximately 480k acres (give or take a volcano flow, haha!) that World Record belongs to The Parker Ranch (which is nearest a town called Kamuela (pronounced KAH-moo-eh-lah) if you’re looking on a map).

Okay, I don’t wanna bore you and I could go on for a while, ha! (My dad was a tour bus driver when I was a kid) So, here’s one final hit:

I`olani Palace, located in the heart of CBD Honolulu (Oahu) is the only palace in the whole country! AND the Palace had electricity 3 years before the White House, how’s that?! Haha!

Thanks again for this great read, Seth, and please feel welcome to “Ho-llah” if you and your family ever head this way and are looking for some tips and tricks for the trip! I’d be happy to give you some “real deal Holyfield” info on stuff you don’t wanna miss, as well as any that I consider a “hit and miss” haha! 🙂

Aloha!
Kerissa 🙂