Did you know in the early 19th century it was popular among journalists to misspell words on purpose and then abbreviate the misspelling in articles as an inside joke between scribes? That’s how the now ubiquitous Americanism “OK” was born.

Scholars have traced the two-letter word to 1839, when editors at The Boston Morning Post signed off on articles as being “all correct” by instead using “oll korrect” or the abbreviation “OK” for fun. The word made it into print on March 23 of that year when a Post journalist used it in an article attacking a rival editor at a Providence, R.I., newspaper.

Amazing, is it not, how misinformation can become fact once it appears in newsprint? It’s no different today, especially in cases when journalists misreport the facts on scientific studies.

How is it that some believe low-calorie sweeteners are unsafe when the ingredient has been deemed repeatedly to be safe by scientific authorities? Low-calorie sweeteners are in thousands of foods and drinks and have been vigorously studied. The World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have all gone on record several times that low-calorie sweeteners have never been shown to cause disease in people. EFSA went so far as to say the sweetener aspartame is safe for infants, children and pregnant women.

Even the National Cancer Institute states: “There is no clear evidence that the artificial sweeteners available commercially in the United States are associated with cancer risk in humans.”

We understand that it can be difficult to separate science facts from myths. That is why we encourage you to visit Let’sClearItUp.org to find science-based facts on beverages. OK?