Atlantica - 01.06.2001, Side 14

12 A T L A N T I C A
OK OK. We know you love to use this ubiquitous little two-letter word (sometimes spelled
as ‘okay’), a valid means of expression in almost any language. But how did all this
OK’ing come about? Well the history is a bit murky, but it seems all this agreement aris-
es from an abbreviation fad among the young and fashionable set in American cities of
the late 1830s. According to The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories, appar-
ently it was pretty hip to misspell phrases and then use the initials as a strange sort of
code. The earliest printed record of OK can be found in the Boston Morning Post of 23
March 1839, where OK supposedly stood for ‘oll korrect’. OK’s position was further
strengthened by Martin Van Buren’s unsuccessful re-election campaign of 1840 in which
the Democratic OK Club was formed, using this term to stand for ‘Old Kinderhook’
(Kinderhook being Van Buren’s birthplace in Upstate New York). There are even other
accounts stating that OK originated from Greek or the Choctaw Nation (‘okeh’)! With all
these derivations, I have new-found respect for Buckwheat (of the 1930s Our Gang seri-
als), when he dared to catalyse this word’s evolution. Otay! I say. RM
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airmail
Fly the Train to Europe
Amtrak and Icelandair offer first US joint rail + air flight to Europe. Philadelphia and
Washington launch service.
Amtrak and Icelandair have teamed up to provide a unique travel experience to Europe
with the introduction of the first American train + plane codeshare.
Travellers on both sides of the Atlantic may now purchase Icelandair tickets to and from
Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) with a direct connection via Amtrak to
Washington, DC or Philadelphia. The train portion of the ticket will show a designated
Icelandair flight number.
“This form of intermodal transportation has been quite successful in Europe, and our cus-
tomer surveys indicated positive results in our test markets here,” said Gunnar Eklund,
Icelandair’s General Manager for the Americas. “We expect this to open the way for addi-
tional codeshare cities in the months to come,” he added. “We are also very proud of
being the very first airline working with Amtrak on this project,” Eklund continued. “It fur-
ther emphasises the importance of Icelandair and BWI in the mid-Atlantic travel market.”
“We are delighted to offer the first US plane-and-train codeshare in partnership with
Icelandair, whose progressive marketing strategy complements our own,” said Barbara
Richardson, Amtrak Executive Vice President.
The partnership allows passengers to purchase one ticket for both rail and air travel. For
example, passengers may board the train in either Washington or Philadelphia for BWI
Airport, where they will be shuttled to the Icelandair check-in counter. The return flight
will operate as effortlessly, with convenient shuttle service to the BWI Amtrak station fol-
lowing Icelandair’s flight arrival, baggage claim, and customs clearance.
Tickets are available through travel agents or from Icelandair only, and may not be pur-
chased through Amtrak reservations.
For additional information, please contact Icelandair Reservations or visit www.icelandair.com
Funny Old Word: OK
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