A: Today, just about everyone knows how to use the term “OK,” but what does it really mean?

There are many stories of its origin, some being more speculation than fact. Some people believe the current “OK” is short for the Greek “olla kalla,” meaning “all good,” while others point to the Chocktaw Indian word “okeh” meaning “it is so” and others say it used to mean “only kissing.”

In New England in the 1830s, there was a popular trend to use initials — as in the current popular TGIF or even TTYL in e-mails (talk to you later). This 1830s fad went as far as to generate letter combinations for intentional misspellings: K.G. for “know go,” K.Y. for “know use,” and O.W. for “oll wright.” O.K. for “oll korrect” then followed.

While most of these silly initials faded away, OK survived. Perhaps this is because of a presidential nickname that helped keep OK at the fronts of many minds. Martin Van Buren, elected our eighth president in 1836, was born in Kinderhook, N.Y., and early in his political career, was dubbed “Old Kinderhook.”

O.K. became the cry of support for the Old Kinderhook Club, Van Buren’s political supporters. While Van Buren did not get re-elected after his first term, OK has succeeded in remaining a part of American’s everyday language.

QWhat are the “dog days of summer?”

A: The dog days of summer are the period between July 3 and Aug. 11. It is during this time that the sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the Dog Star. It was once believed that due to the star’s position at this time of year it somehow conspired with the sun to make the days hotter. Others believed that the hot summer days caused dogs to go mad, thus the name.

Q: When does the rainy season begin in the southern states of our country?

A: There are two seasons of copious precipitation in the South. The interval from January through March is wet because storms emerge out of the Gulf of Mexico and move northward through the central and eastern states (providing the necessary moisture for considerable frozen precipitation over northern areas). August and September is the second rainy season, and is due to a combination of afternoon and evening thunderstorm activity (popping up in the heat of the day) and tropical cyclone activity, which peaks in early September. The driest and clearest month of the year is usually the month of October.

Q: What does the solar wind have to do with the weather?

A: Electrically charged particles are continuously streaming away from the sun’s seething surface as a solar wind. When the particles encounter the earth’s magnetic field, the particles and the earth’s magnetic fields undergo complex interactions. Many scientists speculate that this influences widespread weather changes, and can affect long-term shifts in the climate. Yet the solar particles do not reach the lower atmosphere where weather occurs, and their energy seems too small to set off chain reactions. So to answer your question, there is no scientific proof that the solar wind affects our weather, but many believe it does.

Q: How can I easily and inexpensively sharpen my garbage disposal?

A: Place about six ice cubes in the disposal, run the cold water and then turn the disposal on. This should help sharpen the blades.

If you have a question for the Farmers’ Almanac write to Farmers’ Almanac, P.O. Box 1609, Lewiston, ME 04241 or e-mail: [email protected].