“I’m OK.” That is the most generic response to many questions. “How are you doing?” “I need you to feed the dog.” “OK.” An expression used to denote agreement, excitement, acknowledgment, indifference or even just as a filler. OK is one of the most frequently used words in the English language. Its popularity even transcends English to being one of the most recognized and understood words of the language to non-English speaking people. Sometimes it is written as the more elegant “okay,” sometimes as an abbreviation “O.K.”

What is the correct spelling, and what is O.K. an abbreviation for?

While writing in abbreviation may be considered an advent of the era of texting, it was also quite popular in the 1820s and 1830s. It was also considered humorous at the time to deliberately misspell words. These trends would sometimes collide. One example was KG. This was an abbreviation on “know go” which was a misspelling of “no go.”

On March 23, 1839, the Boston Morning Post used OK in a friendly jab at another newspaper. It was intended to be an abbreviation of “oll korrect” which was a humorous misspelling of “all correct.” The paper used the abbreviation again a few days later. By the end of the year several other papers had adopted the abbreviation as well.

OK may have died out along with the other witty abbreviations of its day had it not been for the presidential race of 1840. Martin Van Buren was running for reelection against William Henry Harrison. Born and raised in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren had the nickname Old Kinderhook.

To combat the popularity of his opponent’s slogan, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too, Van Buren’s supporters shortened his nickname to OK. OK Van Buren had the double meaning of implying that Old Kinderhook was “all correct.” OK clubs were formed throughout the states to support his reelection campaign. Van Buren lost, but OK permanently entered the English lexicon.

So, one of the most recognizable words in the world began as a trendy joke almost 200 years ago. Remember this the next time you ask a teenager how they are doing and he or she responds with, “IDK” or “Skibidi!” Fifty years from now these may be no longer be slang but common, everyday vernacular. So, take a deep breath and know that it will all be okay.

Crystal Kelly is a feature writer for Bizarre Bytes with those unusual facts that you only need to know for Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy or to stump your in-laws.