The curious case of the Hawaiian bus stops

Whilst the US is as broad culturally as it is geographically, Hawaiian culture is noticeably different, in even the most general aspects, to that of the mainland. One numerological example is the Hawaii doesn’t subscribe to the European Christian beliefs that 7 is lucky, 13 unlucky and so on.

On the ‘big island’ 8 is considered to be the luckiest number. 1-7 are fairly neutral, whilst the higher a number gets past 8, the more unlucky it is.

Much as many hotels don’t have a 13th floor, this superstition is the reason for there being only 8 bus stops on the entire island of Hawaii. Originally there were 5 but the network expanded with the increase in tourism.

The cap at 8 has held firm despite demand and is responsible for many a red-faced tourist giving in and booking a cab to town, the drivers of which still consider the number to be very lucky.