Good Questions: Heat Lightning, Political Conventions, 'OK'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Sandy from Fridley wants to know: What causes heat lightning?
Heat lightning is known as the flashes in the sky without thunder or rain.
According to the National Weather Service, those flashes are lightning, but lightning from a storm far away.
In some cases, lightning can be seen from up to 100 miles away.
The sound of thunder does not usually travel more than 10 miles.
The reason many people associate it with heat is because often it is often seen on warm nights in the summer.
Barb from Robbinsdale wants to know: Who pays for the political conventions?
For years, the conventions got some public funding, but a new law ended that money in 2014.
The parties can now raise many into a special account specifically for the convention. Individuals can give up to $100,200 to that account. The data can be looked up here.
Host committees also raise the bulk of the funding from individuals or groups like unions and corporations. Those donations could be cash or in-kind -- like technology, phones or computers.
Terry from Apple Valley asks: What is the origin of OK?
According to Allan Metcalf, author of "OK: The Improbable Story of American's Greatest Word," "OK" started as a grammar joke in the "Boston Morning Post" in 1839.
Abbreviations were popular at the time, and the paper wrote that "OK" stood for "Oll Korrect."
Presidential candidate Martin Van Buren used "Vote OK" as a campaign slogan a year later. "OK" stood for "Old Kinderhook," Van Buren's hometown and nickname.
