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Why we use the word OK

How a corny joke from the 1830s got to be the most used term worldwide

By Nora ArianaPublished 8 months ago 3 min read
3


We constantly hear this two-letter phrase.

OK.Okay.

Annie, how are you doing? OK OK OK, women, OK The word "OK" may be the most well-known on the planet.OK!OK.Even with technology, it is crucial to how we connect with one another.Alexa, turn out the light in the living room.OK.Even if you are unaware of it, you probably utilize it every day.But what exactly does OK mean?And from where did it originate?Hm.OK.good, then.Thank you.Actually, the origins of OK can be found in a fad of deliberate misspelling of acronyms in the 1830s.

Those "in the know" in Boston were pleased by the botched coded messages KC, or "knuff ced," KY, "know yuse," and OW, or "oll wright," which were used by young "intellectual" types. Haha. However, one acronym stood out from the rest because to a few fortunate events: OK, or "oll korrect."All correct" was a famous adage used in the early 1800s to indicate that everything was appropriate.When OK was originally published on March 23, 1839, its short relative entered the mainstream.a Boston Morning Post article.As soon as other newspapers caught on to the joke, it quickly traveled across the nation, becoming widely known as OK and not only among a select group of Boston insiders.Furthermore, OK's resurgence in popularity even inspired a stumbling US president from Kinderhook, New York,to use it as his campaign moniker for reelection in 1840.Supporters of Van Buren established OK Clubs across the nation, and their message was fairlyIt was evident that Old Kinderhook was "oll korrect."The campaign received a lot of media attention and developed a bad reputation.In the end, his opponents used the acronym against him, claiming it stood for "Orful Konspiracy" or "Orful Katastrophe."Hah.Even a smart moniker ultimately failed to save Van Buren's presidency.But OK won, so that's good.That 1840 presidential campaign cemented OK's place in American slang.

And because to one invention—the telegraph—OK made the transition from slang to genuine, practical application while similar abbreviations went out of style.The current flows to the sounder if we lower the bridge.The armature is drawn to the other end of the circuit where the current powers an electromagnet.The armature taps out a message by clicking against a screw.Just five years after OK, the telegraph made its first appearance.It sent out brief messages using electric pulses and dot combinations.and dashes that stand in for alphabetic letters.

The time had come for OK to shine.The pair of letters were simple to type and highly unlikely to be mistaken for anything else.It was immediately embraced as the norm for acknowledging a transmission as received, particularly by railroad workers on the expanding US system.Even further, this 1865 telegraphic manual goes on to state that "no message is ever regarded as transmitted until the office receiving it gives O K."It was now a serious matter.The fact that the two letters are simple to transmit is one factor, but there is another important one. It's related to how OK seems.

or more particularly, the appearance and sound of the letter K. The letter K is rated somewhere around 22nd in the English alphabet, making it extremely uncommon to begin a word with it.This rarity sparked a "Kraze for K" in advertising and print at the turn of the century, where businesses swapped hard Cs for Ks to catch your attention.This Kook-Rite Stove, for example, or Klearflax Linen Rugs were examples of words that may be modified.for instance, would make it more noticeable.That is still a visual tactic. In contemporary company logos, such as those for Krispy Kreme and Kool-Aid, K is depicted.The K is what makes it so distinctive.The Bostonian roots..

World History
3

About the Creator

Nora Ariana

There are no limits to our dreams, just believe they do mean something to us.

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  • Alex H Mittelman 8 months ago

    Ok! Good work!

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