Linda Wright, age 14, of Huntsville, Alabama, for her question:

Where exactly is Utopia?

Sad to say, there is no land named Utopia on any map of this world. This story began in England way back in 1516. In that year, Sir Thomas More published a famous book in the form of a dialogue in which a sailor named Raphael Hythiodaye describes his visit to a fabulous island in the New World. The story was written in Latin, but the title, "Utopia," was taken from two old Greek words meaning "nowhere." In 1551, the story was translated into English.

Thomas More was a scholarly man dedicated to philosophy and social reform. His Utopia describes an imaginary community in which civilization has progressed to an ideal commonwealth. All its people are well educated, well mannered and self controlled. Crime is unthinkable and want is unknown to them. In this wise and mature community, every person is treated fairly, with respect and consideration. Of course, this Nowhere Utopia never really existed. But its name has endured and we know that at least one country in the New World aims toward its noble ideals.