30 August: Honolulu

On this date in 1850, Honolulu, Hawaii became a city. 10 things you might not know about Honolulu.

1. The name Honolulu means "sheltered port".
2. The city's nicknames include Crossroads of the Pacific and the Big Pineapple.
3. It is the most remote city in the USA, the nearest mainland point to it being a lighthouse in California, 2,045 miles/3,787km away. That said, parts of Mexico and Alaska are slightly nearer.
4. The first European to visit was British captain William Brown, who sailed into the harbour in 1794.
5. Honolulu is the only city in the US to have a royal palace (The Iolani palace, today a government building which is open to the public). The palace had electric lights four years before the White House did.
6. It also has the largest concentration of Buddhist temples than any other Western city - more than 33 of them.
7. Honolulu's symphony orchestra is the second oldest in the US, founded in 1900.
8. Honolulu has the worst traffic congestion in the US, worse even than Los Angeles. Honolulu drivers waste on average 58 hours a year stuck in traffic jams.
9. Honolulu has 29 sister cities, including Bombay, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Manila, Caracas and Mombasa.
10. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Honolulu was 52 degrees F.

NEW!

Obsidian's Ark

Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.

Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.

Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?

When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?

Themes: 

Superheroes; Coming of age; Leadership; Kidnap and rescue; Aliens; Friendship and rivalry; Terrorism; Secrets.

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