Open Mike: OK Is Not Spelled 'Okay,' and Other Strange Facts

—>Strawberries aren't berries, but watermelons are.

—>John Knox, an associate professor of geography at the University of Georgia, led a study in 2011 to see how far photographs can travel aloft in tornadoes. "They’re like little wings when they go up into the air," he said. The study found a photograph that was returned to its owner after being found 219 miles away from where it started out.

—>John Lennon (or "John Lennon"?) earned $14 million last year. Yet he's now been dead for longer than he was alive. In the arts, you don't need to be yourself anymore to do well.

—>Tyre Nichols, who was in the news following his murder—sorry, death—at the hands of Memphis police, was one of us: a photography enthusiast.

Photo by the late Tyre Nichols, R.I.P.

His website opens with a quotation by Joel Strasser: "A good photographer must love life more than photography itself." Tyre, we hardly knew ye.

—>Sign on all the televisions at my new gym:

"NO NEWS"

—>In 1830s America there was a brief fad among young people of initializing incorrectly spelled phrases. There were many of them, but the one that stuck around was short for "oll korrect," meaning all correct. OK, which today is believed to be the single most recognized English-language word the world over, is thus correctly spelled with two capital letters, because it's an acronym. But "okay" is OK too. 

—>The world's largest camera collection is thought to be that of an Indian photojournalist from Mumbai named Dilish Parekh. He has at least 4,425 cameras.

—>Beethoven never saw the ocean.

—>"Signs of the apocalypse" were popularly considered to be omens and warnings that the world had turned topsy-turvy: birds flying backward, purple sky, and so forth. In case you haven't kept up with such things: the Most Valuable Player in the NBA for two years in a row has been a big awkward-looking white guy from Serbia. And arguably his biggest competition for the award this year is a white guy from Slovenia. Hmm.

—>For the first few decades after 1839, photographs remained relatively rare. Now, so many photographs are taken every day, week, month, and year that the numbers can't even be meaningfully estimated.

—>While you might think every photograph is on the web, this one isn't:

At least, not till now*.

—>Windsor Castle isn't named after the House of Windsor; it's the other way around. The British Royal family descends from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. George V changed it to Windsor during WWI to distance his family from the understandably unpopular Germans, and to make the family sound more English. King Charles III's father, Prince Philip, is largely of German heritage, and spoke German fluently. (Whether King George I, who was German, spoke English in addition to his native German is still disputed.) By blood, Charles III might be more German than English**. Incidentally, Prince Albert of haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, the German Prince who married Queen Victoria, introduced a German custom to England that the British took to heart: the Christmas tree.

—>Of the 25 most expensive photographs ever sold, seven are by Richard Prince, who makes straight (though usually enlarged) copies of photographs by other people.

—>The camera that is probably the most valuable in the world has never been sold. It's the first Ur-Leica, Oskar Barnack's camera of 1913 that was the earliest prototype of what was eventually, in 1925, dubbed the "Leica." It's on display at the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar, Germany. It made a negative 24x36mm in size and had a 40mm lens. It's been said that it might sell for 400 million euros, but no one knows.

—>Wasabi isn't, mostly. It's horseradish; real wasabi is too expensive for sushi restaurants outside of Japan to use. Real wasabi is so rare in America that the signature distinguishing characteristic of a sushi restaurant in Wisconsin, called Wasabi, is that they actually use wasabi.

Mike

*A lot of the photographs I publish have never been on the web, but this one pulled up nothing on TinEye and Google Image Search, which hardly ever happens to me.

**I'm sure our British friends will correct this entry if need be!

P.S. Got any more? I concocted this post after I ran into that fact about Beethoven, which really struck me for some reason.

Original contents copyright 2023 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

Antonis R: "True, packaged wasabi is mostly horseradish. Wasabi is mentioned as the ninth ingredient in an S&B box—probably to justify the name of the product. Also true, an approximately 10"+ wasabi rhizome can cost $25–40 in a Japanese market in the US (if available at all). But another reason for substituting horseradish in the less expensive establishments is the work it takes to grind it to order. The spiciness and aroma of the root are only released in the moment the cells are broken when ground against shark skin or similarly shaped metal hand grinders. It only lasts moments. Even fancy restaurants can't prepare it ahead of dinner service. In Japan some restaurants serving soba (buckwheat noodles) include the root and the grinder with your order at the table and let you do the work. Unfortunately, there is no substitute for the real thing!"

Dan: "Unless someone has a better example, the world's largest camera collection was owned by a man (whom I should not name) in Ina city, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. When I visited his home in 2016 he had over 8,000 cameras. Most had been sent to him in inoperative condition over a period of 45+ years. He is a well known professor of entomology and many items were sent by his students and their families. In addition to his career in entomology, he was an avid photographer and gadget tinkerer. He was able to repair nearly all the cameras he was sent. When I toured his home it was cameras from ceiling to floor. You had to wind your way through halls made of hanging cameras and accessories. Additionally, his garage was stuffed with items that didn’t fit in the house. I visited him this summer only to find that nearly all the cameras had been sold off...to pay for an electron microscope! He’s in his late 80s, but he spent hours showing me images of some kind of mite he has studied for years. 'I’m the only person I know of with an electron microscope in my home.' I could only nod and agree."

Sergio: "Weird facts are always fun, the more arcane the better. But the one about Beethoven really impressed me. I revisited in one split second all of his music I've actually listened to trying to re-digest it in the light that he had never seen the sea. That in itself is a pretty weird fact."

Mike replies: That one came from the upcoming Why Beethoven: A Phenomenon in One Hundred Pieces by Norman Lebrecht.

Albert Smith: "'Strange but true, carpet is neither a car or a pet, but is actually some kind of floor covering.' —David Letterman"

John Wilson: "The 'pineapple,' one of my favourite fruits, is in no way related to a pine or an apple. It's actually a type of bromeliad that produces a cluster of 200+ berries fused together in a double helix that follows a Fibonacci Series."

John Krumm: "Boy did I tear up when I clicked on the link to Tyre Nichols' website, and then read his 'About' section."

Dave Richardson: "The Corvette being pulled from the water was pretty easy to find in posts earlier than yours."

Mike replies: Very curious. My own Google Image Search yielded zero results, ditto for TinEye. I still can't find the story anywhere.

Mani Sitaraman: "Dilish Parekh passed away ten days ago, on February 2nd, alas. R.I.P. He inherited a collection of about 600 cameras from his father, and then collected more on his own. He was a freelance photographer. I hope the following isn't an indecent speculation. Being somewhat acquainted with the photography business in India, I wonder how he could afford to build such a large collection. For instance, a luxury wedding photography assignment pays about $1,000. Most pay less than half that, for instance. and it's not an easy living over there, in U.S. dollar terms. On the other hand, I assume cameras in people's estates in various corners of India probably aren't that expensive either. He refused all offers for the collection. Here is one of several news stories about him."

Comments

[darlene]

OK = Oklahoma ... that's why I write: okay. Okay?

Some strange facts about history I found:

Gone to Pot - Originated in the Middle Ages, when death by boiling was a form of capital punishment.

Meeting a Deadline - From the Civil War, prisoners were kept in open areas, far away from fences and walls. Basically, a line was drawn in the dirt, and if you crossed it … they shot you.

Pay Through the Nose - A common punishment faced by Viking raiders to people who refused to pay the danegeld was to slit the nostril, from tip to eyebrow.

Mad as a Hatter - No, not from Alice in Wonderland. In 17th century France, hat makers often used mercury to treat the hats felt. The symptoms of mercury poisoning were similar to that of someone gone insane, causing tremors, irritability, and irrational outbursts.

Cat Got Your Tongue - In ancient Egypt, liars and blasphemers would have their tongues cut out, which were then fed to the Pharaoh's royal cats.

Over a Barrel - Dates to the Spanish Inquisition. A common torture to coerce “heretics” into confessing was to suspend them over a barrel of boiling oil. No confession? Into the boiling oil, you go.

Saved by the Bell - Long before modern boxing, living people would sometimes be thought dead and were buried alive. Those afraid of that possibility were buried in a special grave with a rope attached to an above-ground bell. This ties in nicely to …

Graveyard Shift - Night watchmen were posted in cemeteries to keep an ear out for the sound of bells from the graves.

It's Raining Cats and Dogs - In medieval Europe, many houses had roofs of thick, thatched straw. It sounds like a perfect place for small dogs and cats to stay warm and dry, right? Sadly, when really heavy rain would fall, it would wash the animals off the roofs and into the gutters on the streets.

Cost an Arm and a Leg - From pre-photography days. Portrait artists had rates for paintings based on the number of limbs (arms, legs, hands, feet) that were to be in the painting. If you were not well off, getting your portrait would cost you … well, you get it.

Baker's Dozen - In 13th century England, a law was passed that made selling “light” loaves, or lesser quality bread, illegal. The threatened punishment? They would cut off the baker's hands. Fearful bakers began throwing in an extra loaf to ensure no complaints were made.

Piss Poor - In ancient times, tanneries used urine to soak the animal hides. A way for very poor families to earn a few extra cents was to sell their urine. And maybe, "Not a Pot to Piss In" might be for those too poor even to have that extra pot to collect urine in.

Skeletons in the Closet - Until the 1830s in England, it was illegal to dissect human corpses. So, medical schools and doctors paid grave robbers to supply them with cadavers. The bodies had to be hidden in case of a police raid. Guess where.

Found these out in www orbit, so take them as entertainment, but commenters agreed with the 'history guy' that posted them.

[VERY cool! --Mike]

[Richard Parkin]

Charles III is probably even more “German” than indicated by his recent ancestry. 30% Of ‘White’ British people are ‘German’ according to
https://tinyurl.com/yf4facm7 . Really Germanic would be a better term since Germany as a state is a Johnny come lately. When accused of being a German, Nigel Farage our home grown snake oil seller claimed there was no truth in it since his ancestor arrived here before the state existed :-) .

On the other hand it looks like the Germans may all soon be English if this comes to pass: https://tinyurl.com/2p8df72d . It is often forecast that English could become the sole official language of the EU if the UK left.

I’m not sure what this all really means. I believe the US narrowly averted becoming ‘German’ thanks to Kaiser Bill’s little escapade. Sometimes I wish the US had become German speaking and then Americans might start calling us English rather than Brits when referring to UK citizens who are neither Scots nor Irish nor Welsh.

[Moose]

—>From etymonline:
'apocalypse (n.)

late 14c., "revelation, disclosure," from Church Latin apocalypsis "revelation," from Greek apokalyptein "uncover, disclose, reveal,. . .
Its general sense in Middle English was "insight, vision; hallucination." The general meaning "a cataclysmic event" is modern (not in OED 2nd ed., 1989)'

—>Although not common in restaurants, true wasabi is readily available. S&B brand is in our fridge at the moment. Usually at least a couple of brands in our local supermarket.

—>Stevie Wonder never saw the ocean.

—>The camera that is probably the most valuable in the world is the one in my hands when a good shot appears in my sight. \;~)>

[Jeff]

There are many similarly fun lists…

https://www.rd.com/list/weird-facts/

[Jeff]

…and…

https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/riddles/jokes/fun-facts-and-trivia

[Alex Buisse]

Probably apocryphal, but I was always told OK came from the Civil War era, when units reported KIA numbers. A good day would have none, which would get reported as 0 Killed, shortened to O K.

[Mike Ferron]

And if your veggie is a hanging seed pod it is actually a fruit.

[Rick in CO]

Very interesting car being pulled up! Alfa Romeo BAT?

[Richard Man]

Haven't tried it yet, but there's a Half Moon Bay wasabi farm in, well, Half Moon Bay - 40 mins from where I am, and currently in the news due to a mass shooting :-/

[William Lewis]

Oh, sweet mother of god...

As a photographer, as someone who has come to appreciate Memphis and as the parent of a child of color (adopted from Vietnam, but damned if I haven’t had to learn how this country _really_ is because of the institutional racism against him.) this just _hurts_ …

This white bread Wisconsin boy has seen that bridge and while I have a few images of it, I have _Nothing_ that good by any stretch of the imagination. He was _good_.

Memphis, much as I love your city, you have so much to explain and pay for in this case.

[Richard John Tugwell]

Like yourself, no image search found the Corvette photo for me. Tried multiple ways and used all browsers. Just goes to show - don't put too much trust in AI

[Trevor Johnson]

A fascinating list from Darlene, many thanks.

I have just come back from playing the organ for at the Parish Church in our village, for the main 10:30 service. Parts of the building are 12th and 13th century and it is a Grade 1 listed building. I always find it humbling to be walking on that very same floor as has been there for almost a thousand years.

(A pice of trivia:I played the J S Bach 'Great' A minor prelude and fugue, BWV 453 as the exit voluntary).

[TC]

Tyre Nichols was murdered by police...why the strikeout? Also, I feel it kind of trivializing to list the fact that he was a photographer here as a "strange fact" tbh.

[True, it is not a strange fact but a humanizing one. Police murders of Black people trouble and haunt me. I wanted to acknowledge Tyre without having to write a post about him. --Mike]

[James Weekes]

Beethoven never heard the ocean either

[s.wolters]

There is a story that George V decided to change Saxe-Coburg and Gotha into Windsor after he heard some of his staff talking about ‘these Krauts.’ Germans were, as you can imagine, not popular in Britain back then. Almost at the same time the Princes of Battenberg altered their name into Mountbatten and the Duke and Prince of Teck adopted Cambridge as their new family name. Three years later, in 1920, the Belgian King Albert I changed Saxen-Coburg-Gotha simply into ‘of Belgium.’
The nobility circle in Europe was very small around World War One. The German Kaiser Wilhelm II, King George V of England and Tsar Nicholas II were all grandsons of Queen Victoria. The mothers of George and Nicholas were sisters and maybe that is why they almost looked like twins. It happend that they exchanged their uniforms as a practical joke.
The offspring of Queen Victoria used to come together every summer for cruise holidays and parties. A thing they continued to do so during the war, when their armies were killing each other on the battlefields.

Here is the complete story with a picture of the ‘twins.’
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/king-george-tsar-nicholas-1913/

[Andy Wilkes]

Beware folk etymology! Don't believe any derivations of words and phrases until you have looked them up in trustworthy sources.
Same goes for cosy stories such as the well know Rolls Royce engineers taking a helicopter across Europe to fix a car overnight and the 'disavowing all knowledge'. I remember an intelligent man, an engineer in fuel gas pipelines, passing on the story that a certain crude word was acronym from the 'stuff' having to be 'Stored High In Transit'. He was not aware of the word's origin way back - Wikipedia is is your friend here.

[Malcolm Myers]

King Charles' father, Prince Philip, was always known as Phil the Greek in the less reverential parts of the UK press, because of his Greek heritage. However, he came from a time when all European Royal houses were related to each other, so who knows? After all, Kaiser Bill was Queen Victoria's grandson.

[Dogman]

Me, I'm happy as a lark.

("The word lark in the term on a lark is used to mean frolicking or playing. The use of the word lark to mean frolicking first appeared in the early 1800s. It may stem from the word skylark, slang used by sailors to mean roughhousing in the rigging. It may date back to the Old Norse word leika** which means to play."
--Stolen from the gramarist.com without remorse.)

**See how I turned that into a pseudo-photography reference?

Okey-dokey. Carry on.

[Dan]

I grow wasabi in a container in my back yard. The starts are available from Oregon coast wasabi. They take a couple of years to mature, but grow well here on the coast. They also sell the specialized graters, handmade and imported from Japan. There's no comparison between freshly grated wasabi and the "wasabi" you find in the stores. I've only been to one sushi restaurant that offered real wasabi, and that was in Hawai'i

[Mark Sampson]

Hmm. there's a connection between U.S. President Martin Van Buren, known as "Old Kinderhook", and the saying "OK". But I'm too lazy to dig it up now.

[Michael]

The drowned car in my opinion, is not an ALFA "BAT". The BAT had a truly distinct rear quarter panel design looking like partially folded bat wings. Also, the BAT had no hood louvers. B.A.T. was actually for the design group of Bertone in Italy..Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica.

My vote would be a 1963 Corvette split window coupe. Not nearly as rare as a BAT, but still quite a very high priced collectible...even for salvage parts the took a swim.😱

[V.I. Voltz]

The ‘fact’ about Beethoven is probably a myth. Most biographers agree that Beethoven visited the Dutch coast at Scheveningen as an adolescent in 1783.

Voltz

[ro do]

According to a 2012 article, the were 4 wasabi farms in the US.
https://cityfarmer.info/city-couple-turns-to-farming-and-grows-wasabi/

[Bill Tyler]

OK all right, okay. There are many proposed etymologies, not all of which can be correct. For the Choctaw version and many others, check out the Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK#:~:text=OK%20(%2F%CB%8Co%CA%8A%CB%88k,a%20loanword%20in%20other%20languages.

[JH]

The photo of the Corvette being pulled from the drink is almost as good as this Ferrari Dino being dug up from a backyard here in LA in 1978:
https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-stolen-ferreri-found-buried-in-backyard-20171107-story.html?utm_id=85625&sfmc_id=1586650

Growing up in Nashville near the Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson, the story I heard about O.K. was it was his abbreviation for "Oll Korrect" because he couldn't spell very well. (Humorous note - the spell checker changed "Oll Korrect" to "All Correct"so I had to go back and "correct" it.)

[Bear.]

Photos not on the web. Meh. I've got thousands which never will be... took 'em all myself, OK? :)

[Richard Parkin]

Obviously you should go for the Choctaw version in your style guide for this blog extending it to okeh bokeh

[Phil Gyford]

Tom Whitwell publishes a list of interesting things he's learned each year, which you might like. Here's 2022's https://medium.com/magnetic/52-things-i-learned-in-2022-db5fcd4aea6e

[Tim Auger]

I found Tyre Nichols's website unbelievably poignant in the circumstances. Thank you for the link. He was obviously one of the good guys - one can only hope that something good comes out of the police self-examination that must surely follow.

[Bill Pool]

Am I the only one who was brought up on this explanation for the origin of OK? From the NPR website:

OK is an idiom that took the world by storm when it came out of the 1840 reelection campaign of President Martin Van Buren. Born in Kinderhook, N.Y., Van Buren carried the nickname "Old Kinderhook." Supporters used the shortened "OK" in rallies, and it took off from there.