Reading it like this is the source of the confusion that so many people have about the nature of the story -- people walk away with the impression that the dial

Reading it like this is the source of the confusion that so many people have about the nature of the story -- people walk away with the impression that the dialogue is in some sense "about" atlantis, and if you read the entire dialogue it's clear that Plato is interested in far more abstract concerns -- it's about the nature of things, the creation of the universe and the nature of divinity and consciousness. Given that context the idea that Plato just randomly included a random story about an island blowing up as factual reporting is ridiculous. He rolls directly from atlantis to talking about the Demiurge -- which, btw, is another myth that seems to have been entirely the invention of Plato.