'E' for Enigmas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Elton John

Sir Elton John (aka Reginald Dwight) has been one of the best-selling singers since 1967 when he began writing songs with lyricist Bernie Taupin. A 1991 film, 'Two Rooms', focused on their style of composing where Taupin would write the lyrics, and send them to Elton, who would put them to music. Elton John has won numerous awards, including an Oscar, Tony, Golden Globe and several Grammys. In 1996 he was made a Commander of the British Empire and in 1998 was then made a Knight Bachelor for services to the music industry and charitable services.

"Daniel", "Benny (and the Jets)", "Jeannie" and "Nikita" are all songs performed by Elton John.

Answer: Eugene Cernan

Eugene Cernan was commander of Apollo 17, the last of the Apollo lunar missions. As he was the last person back into the lunar lander, this made him the last person to set foot on the moon. When the shuttle missions began, Cernan retired, claiming that "You wouldn't get me up there to do that. Once you've gone to the moon, staying home just isn't good enough." Cernan flew into space on three occasions, Gemini 9A, Apollo 10 and Apollo 17.

Edward Gibson flew on the final Skylab mission, Edgar Mitchell on Apollo 14 and Ellison Onizuka the ill-fated Challenger mission.

Answer: Eldfell

During the very early hours of the morning of January 23rd 1973, a fissure opened up on the Icelandic Island of Heimaey and soon spread the length of the island and into the sea. The fissure reached a length of about 3 km and lava exploded out along the entire length, sometimes up to 150m high, with lava bombs and pieces of broken cone being carried along . A volcano crater formed and within days was over 200m high and the lava flow was at times over 100m thick.

Fortune was on the side of the population as they had evacuation plans in place for just such an occurrence. Also, there had been a major storm the day before, so the island's fishing boats were out at sea and not in the harbour, therefore they were used for the evacuation. By the end of the day, everyone who lived on the island had been evacuated and accommodated at nearby Þorlákshöfn.

As the lava threatened to spill into the harbour and ruin the island's fishing industry, they sprayed sea water onto the advancing lava flow, to cool it and preventing it from reaching the harbour. Once the eruption was over, the island was almost 3km wider at one point, and the tephra ash was used to as landfill for housing and to extend the runway. They also used the heat from the lava flow to provide hot water and power their generators, since the eruption had cut off the main supply lines.

The new volcanic cone was originally called Kirkjufell (Church Mountain) since the fissure first opened where the church stood. But a committee went against the popular vote and the name become Eldfell (Fire Mountain)

Eyjafjallajökull is the Icelandic volcano that erupted in 2010, disrupting air traffic across Europe for months. Erebus is in Antarctica, and Erta Ale is a shield volcano in Ethiopia.

Answer: Australian Rules Football team

Essendon Football club (aka 'Essendon' or the 'Bombers') is an Australian Rules football team based in Melbourne. First formed in 1871, they were a founding member of the then Victoria Football league (now the AFL) before becoming a senior team in 1878. Playing in black with a red diagonal stripe, the Bombers are one of the mast capped teams in the league.

Incidentally, while magpies have been known to dive-bomb you, in Melbourne the magpies are Collingwood, not Essendon.

Answer: Éculle

An Éculle is a two-handled soup or porridge bowl, so definitely not edible.

Emmenthaler is a Swiss cheese and embutido is a Filipino meatloaf. Epazote is a strong herb used for Mexican tea and as a flavouring in meals.

Answer: Edward Estlin

Born in 1894, Edward Estlin Cummings was an American author and poet who was also a keen painter. During the first World War he was imprisoned as a spy. His incarceration inspired his novel 'The Enormous Room' which was subsequently praised by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Answer: Evening primrose

The oil from the Evening Primrose plant (Oenothera biennis) is a fatty acid that is not produced by the body. It is used in a variety of treatments including skin disorders (eczema and psoriasis), inflammatory disorders (arthritis and irritable bowel syndrome), heart disease and high cholesterol.

Evening Primrose is most well-known for its use in Women's Health as a herbal treatment for ameliorating the symptoms of PMS, endometriosis, breast pain and menopause.

Echinacea and eucalyptus have been used for reducing cold and 'flu symptoms for many years. Elderberry, not to be confused with Elderflower, is good for the symptoms of influenza and sinusitis.

Answer: Earthworm

The earthworm has five Aortic arches that pump blood around its body. So while technically not a heart, the arches are called hearts because they function in the same way as normal hearts do.

The octopus and squid are both cephalopods that have three hearts and the hagfish (Slime Fish) has four. A human may temporarily have two hearts if he/she has a 'piggyback' (heterotopic) heart transplant.

Answer: Energy Domes

Devo first formed in 1973 and took their name from 'De-evolution'. Thanks to help from David Bowie and Iggy Pop, the band secured a recording contract with Warner Brothers in 1978. In 1980 they released the album 'Freedom of Choice' which included the single 'Whip It'.

The energy domes are round zuggurat-temple shaped hats made of red plastic and were designed by band members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale. The hat was supposed to stop energy escaping from the brain, and despite making them look like Lego men, the hats (along with the band) became a cult classic.

Answer: Spores, moulds and fungi

Played by Harold Ramis, Egon Spengler is a serious but brilliant theoretician who is socially awkward. When Spengler is being flirted with by secretary Janine Melnitz, he says the line about his hobbies.

'Ghostbusters', written by Ramis and Dan Aykroyd (who plays the role of Raymond Stantz) is about a group of parapsychologists who start up a ghost-catching business in New York City. It also stars Bill Murray as Peter Venkman.