Tim Clingan, age 13, of Gurdon, Ark., for his question:

WAS THERE EVER AN ATLANTIS?

Plato told a fanciful tale that, in ancient times, a great empire existed on a continent in the Atlantic Ocean called Atlantis. Its armies planned to subdue Mediterranean countries as they had in parts of Europe and Africa.

But then came great earthquakes and floods which shook Atlantis and submerged it.

For years Plato's tale fascinated people. They seriously discussed where the island was and how it disappeared.

Even though some scientists believe that there actually was a place called Atlantis on the island of Thira in the Aegean Sea, it is probably more likely that it was just a mythical land that had been invented by a very clever writer.