There seem to be at least two factors at play: first, the reckless thrill of potential injury that some young people crave, and second, the infuriated reaction of the responsible adults who just don’t understand the attraction to chaos.

That second part is important to note: part of the fun is making the old folks mad.

Case in point: Kendamas are back.

The toys that were the bane of elementary school teachers circa 2013 have made an improbable resurgence.

A new crop of Hawaiʻi children are only too happy to discover the joys of bruising their fingers, bonking their heads, fighting with friends and disrupting classrooms with the simple toy consisting of a ball, string and wooden peg.

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A decade ago, during the first kendama outbreak, many schools resorted to campus-wide kendama bans. The seriousness of those rules and the memory of the chaos faded with time, while the inexplicable lure of those annoying, dangerous toys resurface. Kids can’t resist something that drives adults crazy. Fun? How fun can it be to successfully land a ball on a wooden spike?

Speaking of, how fun can it be to ride down Kalanianaʻole on just the back tire of a motorized two-wheeler? The joy of that joy ride can’t last more than a minute, all the rider accomplishes is pissing off every adult on the road who pays for car insurance, medical insurance, and just wants to get home safely with no wild distractions on the traffic lanes around them.

Like the inane lure of kendamas, wheelies are back.

The term “wheelie” was coined in the late 1960’s to describe a stunt whereby a bicycle rider pops up the front wheel of the bike and rolls along only on the back wheel. Wheelies were a staple of a 1970s childhood.

But where a wheelie on an old Schwinn might last a few seconds, with modern bikes that have motors, the trick can go on for much longer. Scores of motorized bike riders swoop through Hawaiʻi roadways in broad daylight like a squadron of flying monkeys, popping wheelies, annoying the grown folk and generally taking their lives for granted.

And like the injurious kendamas, the legions of riders traveling on one wheel just look dumb to anyone standing outside the fad. Both involve a skill that is not readily translatable to academic achievement, Olympic greatness, or a name-image-likeness deal. It’s just silly and dangerous. The good people of Hawaiʻi really don’t like to watch young folks get hurt.

Both the state and the City and County of Honolulu have set targets on the wheelie-makers.

In 2024, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed a measure that banned wheelies. The text of the bill flatly said that the city was taking action because the state couldn’t get it together fast enough:

“Although the State Legislature did not pass e-bike legislation in 2024, the City Council considers it necessary to address this emergency issue with new safety requirements to protect e-bike operators and the public at large from e-bike incidents.”

In a media conference to announce the measure, Blangiardi went off script, sounding like the grumpy old fut in all of us:

“I’ve been personally a witness to the abuse going on with e-bikes. I see it so many times in my own car, kids going down the street, wheelie-ing, doing wheelies, no helmets just acting dangerously out there in the open, time and time again, and you say you know, you think it’s a lot of fun until you end up in the emergency room. You think it’s a lot of fun until your parents find out you got killed doing something really stupid.”

Sorry to say, that new law did not have teeth. The wanton wheelies have not abated.

Now state lawmakers have gotten it together to craft a law to establish “safe riding behaviors for electric bicycles.”

The bill, which is awaiting the governor’s signature, bans stunts like wheelies or riding double. It defines e-bikes based on speed and power, describes where they can and cannot be driven, and mandates that riders under the age of 18 wear helmets. The legislation also holds parents accountable for their kids’ reckless behavior.

Okay, but how about holding traffic cops accountable too?  Raise your hand if you’ve seen a pack of wheelie kids blow past a police car? Me, too. Absolutely no fear. Same with folks yakety-yakking on their cellphones while driving, looking down to text while driving, eating a full plate lunch while they’re driving. No fear. No shame.  

The most thoughtfully crafted laws are nothing without the commitment to enforce them.

The popularity of wheelies, like kendamas, will no doubt fade as some new thrill arises, and the grumpy uncle in all of us will wait as local laws slowly attempt to catch up.