# Aphabetic Pairs -- interesting facts **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [April 6, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877 "2017-04-06T12:40:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/381 "2017-11-20T21:49:19Z")
OG- Oscar Gamble, former Cleveland Indians outfielder with a huge Afro, was traded by the Yankees to the White Sox for shortstop Bucky Dent ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/382 "2017-11-22T14:50:14Z")
OH : Ohio. The Ohio state capitol building lacks a dome. Various sources say that this was intentional, that the building was designed with a “cupola” instead of a dome. When I toured the building in the 1980s, the tour guide stated that the building was supposed to have a dome, but the state ran out of funds due to government malfeasance. The building certainly looks unfinished. [General history](http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/about/capitol-square/cupola) [Photo](https://deanoinamerica.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/img_5308-stitch-1024x595.jpg) [Ay, oh, way to go, Ohio.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTLcZDY9pzs) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/383 "2017-11-22T15:37:06Z")
OI - An expression equivalent to “Hey!” among less-erudite Brits, and Orphans International, a global charitable organization that benefits orphans and abandoned children (per Wiki). ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/384 "2017-11-24T00:27:54Z")
OJ – Oliver Jones First and last names of two black fictional characters. Oliver Wendell Jones was a computer nerd kid in the _Bloom County_ comic strip. Oliver Harmon Jones was known as “Spearchucker” in the TV and film versions of _MASH_. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/385 "2017-11-24T01:14:18Z")
OK has been described as the most widely-uttered word on the planet, being recognized in virtually every language. No reliable attribution for it exists before about 1840. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/386 "2017-11-30T03:42:02Z")
OL= Oldest Lighthouse The oldest lighthouse in the world is the Tower of Hercules, overlooking the Atlantic in Northwestern Spain. It is believed to have been built in the 2nd century. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/387 "2017-12-01T04:39:10Z")
OM – Olivia Munn The actress’s first name is actually Lisa. Her father is of English, German, and Irish descent, while her mother is ethnically Chinese, but was born in Vietnam and fled that country following the end of the Vietnam War. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/388 "2017-12-01T11:19:05Z")
ON = on A term used on light-switches and analogous devices, to indicate to the user that the controlled electrical circuit is closed, enabling a power flow and equipment function. Contrasted with OFF. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/389 "2017-12-02T14:59:52Z")
OO = O-O Any of several species of Hawaiian honey eaters of the genus Moho, especially the extinct M. nobilis, of the island of Hawaii, that had black plumage and two tufts of yellow plumes used to make ceremonial robes for the Hawaiian kings. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/390 "2017-12-03T00:43:44Z")
OP - Original poster Me. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/391 "2017-12-10T19:53:19Z")
The **OQ** -2 Radioplane was the first mass-produced UAV or drone in the United States, manufactured by the Radioplane Company. A follow-on version, the OQ-3, became the most widely used target aircraft in US service, with over 9,400 being built during World War II. Source: [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioplane_OQ-2) ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/392 "2017-12-12T21:42:24Z")
OR – Orville Redenbacher With Charlie Bowman, he developed a hybrid strain of popcorn the two men decided to name “Red-Bow” in order to share the credit. An advertising agency, however, decided the senior partner’s name was the one to use in full. Redenbacher was the scientific half of the duo, while Bowman handled the business end of the operation. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/393 "2017-12-16T14:57:46Z")
OS - Object sexuality is a form of sexuality focused on particular inanimate objects. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/394 "2017-12-31T01:37:32Z")
OT - Off Topic. The male duck-billed platypus is venomous. They have sharp stingers on the heels of their rear feet and can use them to deliver a strong toxic blow. All platypuses are duck-billed platypuses. It’s unlikely that the Chiefs will make it to the Super Bowl this year. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/395 "2018-01-03T21:32:58Z")
OU – Ohio University Located in Athens, the Mid-American Conference institution is not only the oldest institution of higher learning in the Buckeye State, but was the first university in the USA to be chartered by an Act of Congress. The school’s first graduate, Thomas Ewing, was also the country’s first Secretary of the Interior and the foster father of William Tecumseh Sherman. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/396 "2018-01-04T01:23:59Z")
Venezuelan Omar Vizquel has more career hits than any major league shortstop not named Honus Wagner or Derek Jeter. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/397 "2018-01-08T04:01:10Z")
OW – Oscar Wilde Among the great witticisms credited to the Irish poet and playwright are the following: When asked at Customs Control if he had anything to declare, Wilde replied “I have nothing to declare but my genius.” (He probably didn’t say this one.) “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.” (Paraphrase of a quote in the 1892 play _Lady Windermere’s Fan_.) “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” (From Chapter 1 of the novel _The Picture of Dorian Gray_.) ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/398 "2018-01-10T20:06:34Z")
O X : symbols for the players in a tic-tac-toe game (aka naughts and crosses). Usually played only by children because every game will end in a tie if both players are playing with an optimal strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/399 "2018-01-10T21:14:39Z")
OY – _Old Yeller_ Fred Gipson’s book by this name received a 1957 Newbery Honor, but was beaten out for the Newbery Medal by Virginia Sorensen’s _Miracles on Maple Hill_. Gipson co-wrote the screenplay for the film _Old Yeller_ with William Tunberg. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/400 "2018-01-11T18:12:35Z")
> [@](#): > > _Lb_ is an abbreviation of the Latin word _libra_. The primary meaning of _libra_ was balance or scales, but it also stood for the ancient Roman unit of measure _libra pondo_, meaning “a pound by weight.” We got the word “pound” in English from the _pondo_ part of the _libra pondo_ but our abbreviation comes from the _libra_. The _libra_ is also why the symbol for the British pound is £—an L with a line through it. The Italian lira also used that symbol (with two lines through it), the word “lira” itself being a shortened version of _libra_. > > “Ounce” is related to the Latin _uncia_, the name for both the Roman ounce and inch units of measurement. The word came into English from Anglo-Norman French, where it was _unce_ or _ounce_, but the abbreviation was borrowed from Medieval Italian, where the word was _onza_. These days the Italian word is _oncia_, and the area once covered by the Roman Empire has long since switched to the metric system. Source: [http://mentalfloss.com/article/52058/why-are-“pound”-and-“ounce”-abbreviated-“lb”-and-“oz”](http://mentalfloss.com/article/52058/why-are-%E2%80%9Cpound%E2%80%9D-and-%E2%80%9Counce%E2%80%9D-abbreviated-%E2%80%9Clb%E2%80%9D-and-%E2%80%9Coz%E2%80%9D) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877.md?page=21)