ANSWER
The word "ok" originated in 1839 in Boston, Mass., the product of a group known as the "Anti-Bell-Ringing Society". It was the abbreviation of the intentionally misspelled "oll korrect". Abbreviations were quite popular at the time, and the "o.k." abbreviation was promptly picked up by the local press. The first recorded written occurrence of "ok" appeared March 23, 1839 in the Boston Morning Post. From there it spread quickly to New York, appearing in print there as early as July 27th of the same year. A year later, a group of New York Democrats formed the "OK Club", in support Martin Van Buren's bid for re-election. In this case "OK" was said to stand for "Old Kinderhook", Van Buren's nickname arising from the fact he was from Kinderhook, New York.
WHO GOT IT RIGHT: Robin Campbell, Bob Milligan, Cindi Lou, Marc Quinlivan, Robert Walker, JP Weigt, and Yanitz Grinell.
