This Is The True Origin Of The Word “OK”

A lot of countries have claimed the origin of the word OK. In fact, there’s an entire Wikipedia threat with more than 35 proposed etymologies of it.

From Greek immigrants sending letters back home stating that ‘everything’s good’ (Ola Kala in Greek) to the French port Aux Cayes, one can find numerous theories on the origin of the word OK. But the truth is that all of these theories lack evidence.

So where did OK come from? (the article continues after the ad)

According to lexicographers from Oxford Dictionaries, the term OK is an abbreviation of ‘orl korrekt’, a jokey misspelling of ‘all correct’ which was used in the US in the 1830s. The first time it was published was on March 23, 1839 edition of The Boston Morning Post. Just as today we use words such as ‘lol’ and ‘omg’, abbreviations in printing were used during the 19th century as well. For example, ‘i.s.b.d’  for ‘it shall be done’ or ‘r.t.b.s’ for ‘remains to be seen’.

But why did OK stuck while RTBS got lost?

For two reasons basically: a presidential campaign and the invention of the telegraph.

First of all, since it was a ‘viral’ abbreviation already used by the public, OK was chosen as a clever slogan by the Democratic party during the American Presidential election of 1840. You see, Martin Van Buren, their candidate, was nicknamed ‘Old Kinderhook’ (after his birthplace in Kinderhook, New York), so his supporters, formed the ‘OK Club’. Even though the slogan didn’t get President Van Buren re-elected, it definitely helped in popularising the word.

The other main reason that helped OK was the invention of the telegraph during that very time (in the 1830s-1840s). OK was perfect for the telegraph and it ended up being the word that was mostly used to acknowledge receiving a transmission.

If you like what you read, then you will definitely love this one: Why Pilots Use The Word ‘Mayday’ When In Emergency? 

Photo: Huffington Post
Photoshop: I’m A Useless Info Junkie

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The Flag Of Philippines Changes Every Time The Country Is At War

Did you know that the National flag of the Philippines changes when the country is at war? Well, it does!

In a peace state, the flag looks like this:
philippinesflagpeace-11-50-23-pm

It has Three Stars and a Sun (actually this is the name of the flag) and a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of blue and red, with blue being on top. This is the flag that’s in use during peacetime. But, When the country is in war though, the flag is flown upside down in order for the red to go on top: (the article continues after the ad)

philippinesflagwar

In fact, the law which support this change has also a clarification in the case the flag is in hanging position: “If the flag is in hanging position, the blue field shall be to the right (left of the observer) in time of peace, and the red field to the right (left of the observer) in time of war.” 

This change brings some confusions though…

In 2016, Facebook mistakenly created a banner for the celebration of the Independence Day in the Philippines with the flag being in the “war” position:

philippinesfacebookUsers, of course, immediately responded and pointed out the mistake with the social media giant removing the banner and issuing an apology.

If you like what you read, then you will definitely love this one: Why Are The X Lines Of The British Flag Not Centered? 

Photo: Creative Commons

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The Flag Of Philippines Changes Every Time The Country Is At War

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