Language strives not only for unification, but also for simplicity. Therefore, many concepts are often replaced by abbreviations. Such common abbreviated signs, of course, include the sign indicating consent, that is, OK.
This statement was born in America, but it is present in almost all languages of the world. There are many theories about the origin of the OK sign.
Political advertising
It is known that in 1840, US President Martin Van Buren carried out his advertising campaign, where the name of his birthplace was present as a slogan, which he briefly designated as OK, and a politician was born in the Dutch village of Kinderhoek. And with the help of such a reduction, young activists of his political party began to spread this slogan, which later stuck in the memory of many people for a long time, but changed its semantics.
Error
The second version of the appearance of the OK sign is the incorrect spelling of the American phrase "everything is correct." So, at the beginning of the 20th century, an American editor posted an article with a typo in a newspaper. The article made fun of the spelling and spoke about the natural simplicity of the language, so this mistake was made by the authors on purpose. Either the authors were convincing, or the reduction turned out to be so successful, but OK stuck precisely in the meaning of "good", "everything is fine."
German and French version
The German version of the origin of the abbreviation OK is also related to the newspaper business. Employees viewing articles marked with this sign, articles that do not require correction.
Another prerequisite for the emergence of this sign was the French war. Every day the soldiers reported to their commander about the losses and used the following meaning in their reports: "0 killed." Zero here plays the role of "O", but the word killed just began with the letter "K". So the soldiers began to briefly inform their superiors about the losses, using this abbreviation, so that the enemies did not recognize the true meaning.
Other versions of the origin of the OK sign can include the following events: the name of biscuits for US soldiers during the Civil War, a special designation on the telegraph when transmitting data, an affirmative answer during the time of the ancient Indians.
The OK sign in the form of a gesture is formed by connecting the index finger and thumb, and is used all over the world. There is no consensus on the origin of the OK sign, all scientists who tried to identify the origin story failed, and counted at least ten different versions.
