Mike O'Connell,age 10, of BrooTings, S. D., for his question;

Who discovered the magnet?

There are two stories as to who discovered the magnet. The tale Andy prefers concerns a shepherd of ancient Crete. His name was Magnes and he tended his sheep with a long, hooked crook. To keep it from wearing down, the crook was tipped with iron. So also were the sandals Magnes wore to do his shepherding.

One day, as the story goes, Magnes noticed a smallish black pebble clinging to the iron tip of his crook. He was surprised when it needed quite a jerk to pull it free. He noticed other such dull, dark stones, Again and again they clung to his iron clad crook and sandals. The stones were of course, natural magnets. Magnes the shepherd reported the strange stones and people soon discovered other tricks they would do. In this version of the story, magnets were named in honor of Magnes who discovered them and brought their magic to people’s attention.

The other version suggests that magnets were namedfor Magnesia, a town in old Asia Minor near which a lot of magnetized iron is found. Both stories are ancient history and no one really can prove either of them to be the truth. So, at this late date, you can take your pick. You believe the story of Magnes the shepherd of Magnesia the towns Or you can withhold your opinion and say that either tale or maybe some other tale may be the truth.