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There are dozens of other interpretations, all equally knuckleheaded. OK = oll korrect, that’s good enough for me.

(1) It’s a derivative of the Choctaw Indian affirmative “okeh.” Andrew Jackson, who figures in many stories about OK, is said to have introduced the word to the white man.

(2) Another Jackson story has it that he used to mark OK for “oll korrect” on court documents. In the one example of this that was actually unearthed, however, the OK was found actually to be OR, for “order recorded,” a common courthouse abbreviation.

(3) It was a telegraphic signal meaning “open key,” that is, ready to receive. Others say OK was used for “all right” because A and R had already been appropriated for other purposes. Big problem with this theory: the first telegraph message was transmitted in 1844, five years after OK appeared.

(4) It stands for O. Kendall & Sons, a supplier of army biscuits that stamped its initials on its product.

(5) It comes from Aux Cayes, already discussed. A variant is that it comes from the French au quai, “to the dock,” said of cotton that had been approved for loading on a ship.

(6) It stands for Obediah Kelly, a railroad freight agent, who used to mark his initials on documents to indicate all was in order.

(7) It comes from the Greek Olla Kalla, “all good.”

(8) A German general who fought on the side of the Americans in the Revolutionary War used to sign documents OK for Ober-Kommando.

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Sometimes it’s the journey, sometimes it’s the destination—and sometimes, it’s both. National Geographic Traveler has scoured the globe for the world’s most beautiful, interesting, and off-beat road trips. Dive in to get directions, quizzes, photos, and more.

Key and the other two Americans safely made their way back to Baltimore. The day after the battle, Key put his thoughts into verse in a poem he called “Defence of Fort McHenry.” Ironically, Key’s lyrics were later put to the tune of a popular British drinking song called “The Anacreontic Song” (a.k.a. “To Anacreon in Heaven”), to which many tavern brawls were fought and drunken affairs consummated!

The song would later be renamed the “Star-Spangled Banner” and, by an act of Congress in 1931, it was made our National Anthem. Sometimes, the most unlikely of events end up shaping history, a history that is always infinitely more fascinating than anything imagined by Hollywood scriptwriters!

Have you ever suspected that your city or town is trying too hard to catch traffic scofflaws in the pursuit of ticket revenue? A Florida woman received a ticket based on evidence from a red light camera, but believed the ticket was unfair because the yellow light was too short. The power of math proved that she was correct..

Her math tutor husband took a stopwatch to the intersection where she received the ticket, and set out to vindicate her. He discovered that yellow lights at that intersection are eight tenths of a second shorter than county guidelines require.

“I said, ‘If it’s really short, then you got short-changed and you got a ticket illegally,'” said [Mike] Mogil.
The speed limit on Collier Boulevard, where she was cited, is 45 mph. According to county guidelines, the yellow light should be 4.5 seconds.

Mogil said he tested it 15 times with an average of only 3.8 seconds.

Four of the seven vehicles on our list of the worst-made cars on the road come from GM brands. And all of the cars on the list — including Chrysler’s Dodge Nitro and Jeep Wrangler — are made by Detroit’s Big Three. Only one car on the list is made by Ford Motor.

The biggest surprise on the list, given recent automotive news: It includes no Toyota (NYSE: TM) made vehicles. In fact, Toyota reported a 40.7% gain in sales last month over March 2009; its Lexus division was up 42%.

Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Aveo
Chevrolet Colorado
Dodge Nitro
Ford F-250