OK, is Martin Van Buren responsible for the tiny word that punches above its weight?

Martin Van Buren served as U.S. president from 1837 to 1841. Some would say he was not much more than an OK president.

From Buenos Aires to Bangkok, Montreal to Moscow, nearly every taxi driver in the world understands "OK." It's a gift from American English that's spread across the globe in less than 200 years.

(Image credit: National Archives/Getty Images)