"
This apocryphal story competes with yet another anachronism: during
the second World War OK (zero+K) meant "zero killed". But OK much
preceded the twentieth century, let alone the 1940s. It is found
in the March 23, 1839 issue of the Boston Morning Post, for instance,
and did, indeed, stand for "Oll Korrect". OK caught on fast. By 1840,
it was all over the USA from New York to New Orleans. President Van
Buren (1782-1862) used it in his campaign, when it signified "Old
Kinderhook", his birthplace in the Hudson Valley.
There are numerous other etymologies attributing OK to a host of other
languages, from Native-American to Creole, and to everything from
telegraphic signaling to German generals - but they have all been
convincingly debunked.
http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/linguist/issues/4/4-694.html
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_250
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?EtymologyOfOkay
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?EtymologyOfOk
Oil Spills
The largest oil spill in history was in Tobago. The Atlantic Empress
spilled 287,000 tons in 1979. Then comes the ABT Summer in Angola
(260,000 in 1991), The Castillo de Bellver in South Africa (252,000 in
1983), the Amoco Cadiz in France (223,000 in 1978).
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