Hawaii
Wow!
Tuck in to this. There was a time when you couldn't book passage to sail to Hawaii. That's because if you wanted to go to the islands, you had to say, "Sandwich Islands, please. And hold the mustard."
We're not kidding. That's what Captain James Cook named the islands that he happened upon in 1778.
He didn't name them after a beef or pastrami sandwich, but instead after the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Why? Well, the earl just happened to be his boss. Good reason.
Just imagine what Cook could have picked. Tripe Islands. Kidney Pie Islands. Fish and Chips Islands. (That last one's not bad. Kinda cool.)
Use of the Sandwich Islands name dwindled to crumbs when British influence faded from the scene in the 19th century.
We're not kidding. That's what Captain James Cook named the islands that he happened upon in 1778.
He didn't name them after a beef or pastrami sandwich, but instead after the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Why? Well, the earl just happened to be his boss. Good reason.
Just imagine what Cook could have picked. Tripe Islands. Kidney Pie Islands. Fish and Chips Islands. (That last one's not bad. Kinda cool.)
Use of the Sandwich Islands name dwindled to crumbs when British influence faded from the scene in the 19th century.
Captain Cook's monument at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island. Perhaps history's greatest explorer, but not greatest namer.
-- Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Kirk Lee Aeder
-- Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Kirk Lee Aeder
Bite Me Islands
Bonus Wow!
Poor Captain Cook. You might say his goose was cooked when he came back to the islands in 1779. In fact, he was baked after being killed in a fight with the Hawaiians.
There are lots of thoughts about why things went wrong, but the Sandwich name couldn't have helped. Some of the crew thought he might have been tasted . . . in which case Bite Me Islands might be appropriate . . . but others say no way that happened.
Poor Captain Cook. You might say his goose was cooked when he came back to the islands in 1779. In fact, he was baked after being killed in a fight with the Hawaiians.
There are lots of thoughts about why things went wrong, but the Sandwich name couldn't have helped. Some of the crew thought he might have been tasted . . . in which case Bite Me Islands might be appropriate . . . but others say no way that happened.