While no one’s sure of the origin of ‘ok’, there are a handful of popular explanations. One view is that it derives from the Scot expression ‘och aye’, the Greek ‘ola kala’ (it is good), Choctaw Indian ‘oke’ or ‘okeh’ (it is so), French ‘aux Cayes’ (from Cayes, a port in Haiti with a reputation for good rum) or ‘au …

The earliest print appearance of the modern signs seem to come from a book on Mercantile Arithmetic by Johannes Widmann in 1489, used to indicate surpluses and deficits. The + is a simplification of the Latin “et” (comparable to the ampersand – &). Widmann referred to the symbols – and + as minus and mer. According to the ‘Earliest Uses …

The first explorer to venture deep into the barren heart of Australia was an Englishman, Charles Sturt. He was an army captain when, in 1826, he was sent to new South Wales with a shipload of convicts. He became military secretary to the governor, but his real interest lay in leading expeditions into the interior, during which he discovered and …

Zoologists believe that the polar bear evolved from a species of brown bears in Siberia, making polar bears the eighth species of bears. With the shifting of polar ice caps and glaciers, the brown bear species native to that area was forced to adapt to the new environment, undergoing physical body changes to keep warm in the brutally cold weather. …

In 1929, the first awards for best performances is films were made. These awards were shaped like a man, and a secretary at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, on seeing one for the first time, remarked that it looked just like her uncle Oscar. The name stuck, and the awards have been called Oscars ever since.

∼ Jean Warren

The Giant Tortoise lives so long Sometimes for three hundred years. What a lot that creature sees; What a lot of things he hears! His home is an island far away, And there he seeks the food he’ll need. He weighs perhaps five hundred pounds, Which means he’s very big indeed. The Little Tortoise, here at home, Who ambles on …