Waikīkī Beach is one of the new squares in an modern version of the Monopoly board game, where the 22 national landmarks and their positions on the new board were chosen via an online poll. In Monopoly Here & Now, the prices have also been updated: Waikīkī Beach will now cost you $2.2 million, rather than $220, which is what the spot cost as Indiana Avenue. Landing on the space will cost you at least $180,000, or $10.5 million if there’s a hotel. Honolulu’s neighbors on the board are Disneyworld in Orlando and Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. Two other Hawai‘i locations were in the running — Kalākaua Avenue and Diamond Head — but Waikīkī Beach prevailed at the polls. Game maker Hasbro says over three million votes were cast this spring, and some cities took the contest more seriously than others. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon launched an e-mail campaign to encourage people to vote, and the city is now crowing about its success in leapfrogging over other locations and coming out ahead of cities like Atlanta, Denver, Houston, and St. Louis. Top spot Boardwalk has become New York City’s Times Square… much to the chagrin of Atlantic City residents.
Entries Tagged 'Unusual' ↓
Waikīkī Beach lands spot on Monopoly board
September 15th, 2006 — Unusual
Hundreds to ‘Hula on the Beach’
August 7th, 2005 — Unusual
An attempt to organize the world’s largest “hula line” will bring hundreds of dancers, professionals and beginners alike, into Waikiki on Saturday, Aug. 20. Hundreds of people will line Waikiki Beach for “Hula on the Beach,” and dance to a song performed by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hanneman in the hopes of getting into the Guinness Book of World Records. The song will be “I Fell In Love with Honolulu,” a hapa haole tune written by musician and former UH music professor Neil McKay, and it will be broadcast on KINE 105.1FM so it can be heard along the entire route. While organizers have yet to confirm that Guinness will be able to certify the “hula line,” the event will be staged either way. The popular “Brunch on the Beach” block party will follow. In order to certify the number of participants, organizers are asking people to pre-register, and free hula workshops will be held leading up to the event for anyone looking to practice along with the song. Find more information at HonoluluPride.com. “Hula on the Beach” is part of the citywide celebration of the Honolulu Centennial.
Hundreds to ‘Hula on the Beach’
August 7th, 2005 — Unusual
An attempt to organize the world’s largest “hula line” will bring hundreds of dancers, professionals and beginners alike, into Waikiki on Saturday, Aug. 20. Hundreds of people will line Waikiki Beach for “Hula on the Beach,” and dance to a song performed by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hanneman in the hopes of getting into the Guinness Book of World Records. The song will be “I Fell In Love with Honolulu,” a hapa haole tune written by musician and former UH music professor Neil McKay, and it will be broadcast on KINE 105.1FM so it can be heard along the entire route. While organizers have yet to confirm that Guinness will be able to certify the “hula line,” the event will be staged either way. The popular “Brunch on the Beach” block party will follow. In order to certify the number of participants, organizers are asking people to pre-register, and free hula workshops will be held leading up to the event for anyone looking to practice along with the song. Find more information at HonoluluPride.com. “Hula on the Beach” is part of the citywide celebration of the Honolulu Centennial.
SUV makes a splash in Hawaii Kai
June 29th, 2004 — Unusual
A Honolulu couple’s driving lesson took a wrong turn Saturday, their Toyota SUV crashing through a fence in Hawaii Kai and landing in a swimming pool. Fortunately, no one was hurt. “As we landed in the pool, I remembered a movie and I waited for the water to fill the car and then I opened the door,” Pat Campanella, 56, told the Honolulu Advertiser. He was teaching his wife, Mimi, how to drive, when she overcompensated in a turn at the intersection at Kamilo Street and Niumalu Loop. The woman whose pool the vehicle landed in, 80-year-old Katherine Peacock, was celebrating her birthday that day and joked with onlookers that it was her birthday present.
Jet lands with extra passenger
June 7th, 2004 — Unusual
A Wahiawa woman gave birth aboard an airplane bound for Honolulu yesterday. KGMB reporter Jacqueline McLean was aboard the flight, camera in hand, and covered the mid-air baby story. Fortunately for the mother, there were two doctors and two nurses aboard ATA flight 755, McLean reported. One of the nurses, Kerrie VaVerka, told KGMB that the woman didn’t know her due date. It turned out to be June 6, however, as a health baby boy was born at 9:45 a.m. (no time zone was specified). While the flight returned to L.A. due to the incident, the other passengers eventually arrived in Honolulu 12 hours late.
Big Isle woman wins candy contest
February 26th, 2004 — Unusual
When Theresa Vargas of Kea`au bought a bag of M&MS for her kids, the all-green candies they found inside made her the latest winner in a nationwide “Color Quest” contest. Vargas found “green,” and won a green convertible Volkswagen Beetle, $20,000 in cash, and a trip to Los Angeles. “As the mother of three children and the caretaker of several foster children, I consider this prize to be a great blessing,” Vargas said. “The whole family will be traveling to Los Angeles, and it will be the first time the children visit the Mainland. We are all so excited.”
Wheelchair ramp stolen
November 19th, 2003 — Unusual
Honolulu police and CrimeStoppers are turning to the public to help recover a wheelchair ramp that was taken from the garage of a Kaimuki Avenue home. Witnesses told investigators that a red SUV pulled into the driveway at around 8 a.m. on Nov. 3, and a male suspect removed the new, six-foot portable wheelchair ramp from the covered parking area. Police say the ramp belonged to a 15-year-old girl with multiple disabilities, and was used to help the family transport her to community activities.
Marine may have shot self to avoid Hawaii duty
August 21st, 2003 — Unusual
A Marine in Minnesota allegedly shot himself last week in order to avoid being shipped to a batallion in Kane`ohe, the Associated Press reported today. Lance Cpl. Adam Welter, 20, had originally told police in Anoka County that he was shot in the left shoulder while trying to help a stranded driver. But police investigators said he admitted the wound was self-inflicted on Monday, the day he would have been sent to join the 3rd Radio Battalion at Marine Corps Base Hawai`i.
Pac Man addict attacks daughter
July 12th, 2003 — Unusual
An argument over a Game Boy escalated into a physical altercation yesterday, when a mother attacked her adult daughter in a dispute over one of the handheld video game devices. According to KHON, Honolulu police have opened an assault investigation after the mother, 54, hit her 31-year-old daughter with a metal chair after the daughter demanded that her Game Boy be returned.
Island feet most sweet
June 18th, 2003 — Unusual
Despite a fondness for slippers and bare feet, Hawaii residents use more Odor-Eaters products per capita than any other state. According to a survey by Combe Inc., which aims Odor-Eaters at people who are “nervous about foot odor and wetness,” Hawai`i consumed its product line at a rate more than double the national average. Frank Haas, marketing director for the Hawai`i Tourism Authority, noted that people here love to enjoy the great outdoors. “For these activities, people are usually shoe-less,” he said.
