The USA's appendix

 Hawaii is the USA's appendix. 

 I never got back to this but had some time to think. The appendix is useful because it's a store of good bacteria so if our digestive tract gets cleaned out etc., it contains the seeds of a new intestinal flora. 

So I was thinking Hawaii is comparable because it's a tucked-away place away from everything and while a lot of good ideas come out of there, a lot of bad ones do too. So it's not a direct comparison (I was thinking the appendix stores bad stuff too). 

Hawaii is certainly a weirdo magnet. I've got a new interest on Reddit, reading r/movingtohawaii it's hilarious.