Highlights Science Editor Dies in Austin

If you were a middle school geekster, like us, you probably got that way by reading Highlights for Children, the mag that answers little kids' weird questions, and also prints really fun games like "What's Wrong With This Picture?" (Is it weird that we still pick it up in the dentist's office?) The science editor for said mag, Jack Edgar Myers, died on December 28th in a retirement home in Austin, at age 93.

Myers taught botany at UT for forty years, and was a full-on academic scientist, but also answered 400 letters a year from kids with dorky-yet-valid questions (we still wonder why the stars shine, personally). He also wrote children's books, with titles such as "Can Birds Get Lost?" "What Makes Popcorn Pop?" and "What Happened to the Mammoths?" Thanks to Professor Myers for taking kids seriously.

Photo from Highlights for Children website