Anna Mae Linden, age 14, of Brownsville, Tex., for her question:

IS THERE SUCH A PLACE AS UTOPIA?

Utopia is a name that is commonly given to an imaginary land where everything is supposed to be perfect. The name comes from the Greek words "'ou" and "topos," meaning "no place."

Utopia is often said to be a spot where society has ideal economic and social conditions. Unfortunately, Utopia doesn't exist anyplace on earth today, and scholars often apply the adjective "utopian" to plans of reform that they consider to be impractical and visionary.

"Utopia" was the title of a famous book published in 1516 by Sir Thomas More.

More recent utopias were described in Samuel Butler's "Erewhon" in 1872, which almost spells "nowhere" backwards; Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" in 1888: and H.G. Wells' "A Modern Utopia" in 1905.