Inventions & Firsts
Hawaiian American, Duke Kahanamoku, popularized this sport in the US in the early 1900s.
What is surfing?
This umami-based seasoning has been proven to have no adverse health effects, but continues to carry on the xenophobic undercurrents of "The Chinese Restaurant Syndrome".
What is MSG or monosodium glutamate?
This Star Trek star is famous for his "Oh my!" catchphrase.
Who is George Takei?
This cellist is commonly recognized for his classical music but has also recorded folk music, American bluegrass, tangos and traditional Chinese melodies.
Who is Yo-Yo Ma?
After the 2004 tsunami ripped through parts of Asia, Bangladeshi German American, Jawed Karim, helped create the idea for this video-sharing site that billions of people across the world use today. Clue: Taiwanese American, Steven Chen, is also known as a leader behind this website/platform.
What is YouTube?
In 2020, this popular fast food chain announced it was getting rid of many of its vegetarian menu much to the chagrin of many in the Desi & South Asian diaspora.
What is Taco Bell?
This Black and Samoan actor, former professional athlete, is often referred to by his solid mineral matter-themed nickname.
Who is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?
This Black and Filipina artist won a Grammy in 2019 for best R&B performance for this song.
Who is HER? (Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson)
Indian American computer architect, Ajay Bhatt, invented this tool to transfer data from one device to another. Clue: it's also known as a Universal Serial Bus.
What is a USB?
In order to prevent union organizing on the sugarcane and pineapple plantations, American companies brought in a number of different ethnics groups to Hawaii. This gave rise to this language which borrows from Portuguese, Hawaiian, American English, Japanese, Filipino and Cantonese just to name a few.
What is Pidgin?
This actress made history as the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe in a lead category.
Who is Awkwafina?
This famous South Asian and queer singer, songwriter and record producer was born in modern-day Tanzania. You may know his band, Queen, famous for their hits like "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Who is Freddie Mercury? (Born as Farrokh Bulsara to Indian parents from the Parsi community of Gujarat)
Taiwanese American, Peter Tsai, an expert in nonwoven fabrics, invented this piece of protection that became popularized in early 2020; so much so that the product saw over 250% price surge over a few months.
What is the N95 mask?
The Korea dish, Budae-jjigae, or army base stew, typically features this meat product, which became synonymous with US militarization in many Asian countries and Pacific Islands.
What is SPAM?
Screenwriter, comedian, and actress; producer of new Netflix series Never Have I Ever.
Who is Mindy Kaling?
This Filipinx and Native Hawaiian singer made her debut on The WB's Popstars, later forming a one of the world's best-selling all-female pop groups, The Pussycat Dolls.
Who is Nicole Sherzinger? (Nicole was born in Honolulu to a Filipino father and mother of Native Hawaiian, Ukranian and Polish descent.)
This innovation is usually acknowledged as being invented by Gutenberg in Germany around 1450, but the first version of this tool was actually invented in Korea, nearly 200 years before in 1377.
What is the printing press?
This is the Executive Order which lead to the Japanese Incarceration camps in the US. Many believe this is what led to fortune cookies being associated with the Chinese rather than their Japanese originators.
What is Order 9066?
Lucy Liu plays an assassin in this 2003 Quentin Tarantino film.
What is Kill Bill?
Her 5th studio album, Be the Cowboy, released in 2018, was named album of the year by several music publications including Pitchfork, Vulture and Consequence of Sound.
Who is Mitski? (Mitski is half-white, half-Japanese and often writes about her struggles with her cross-cultural identity, as in her song "Your Best American Girl")