"E" is for a bit of Everything... Quiz

Answer: Estonia

East Timor shares the island of Timor with Indonesia in the Malay Archipelago in southeast Asia. With a total area of 15,007 square kilometers, it is only slightly larger than the state of Connecticut. Its 2004 estimated population was 1,019,252, with an average life expectancy of 65.56 years. Only 58.6% of the population over age 15 are literate. This republic, with its capital at Dili, has 13 administrative districts. It is still recovering from the 1999 incursion by Indonesian troops, and has since been under the protection of international peacekeeping forces.

El Salvador sits in Central America, bordering the Honduras and Guatemala. It is known for its active geology - volcanos, earthquakes and hurricanes are no strangers to this country. Its 2004 estimated population was 6,587,541; 80.2% of those over age 10 can read and write, and average life expectancy is 70.92 years. Its economy is tied to the US dollar. Much of the economy is based upon agriculture.

Estonia also has a literacy rate of 99.8% of those over age 15, an average life expectancy of 71.38 years and 881,000 cell phones (in 1992). It sits between Latvia and Russia, on the Baltic Sea, and has over 1500 islands. In 1994 it fully regained its independence from the Soviet Union; its capital is Tallinn. Its main industries are in electronics and communications.

Ethiopia is in eastern Africa, bordering Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya and the Sudan. Its history is long and noble; Ethiopia often conquered ancient Egypt. It holds the source of the Blue Nile, Lake Tana. Its population (2004 estimate) was 67,851,281; this country is hard hit by the AIDS epidemic; in 2003 it was estimated that 1.5 million people had AIDS. Partly due to this, the average life expectancy is low at 40.88 years. Only 42.7% of the population over age 15 are literate. Approximately 80% of the economy is based upon agriculture, which in Ethiopia is adversely affected by poor farming practices, drought, internal strife and lack of incentive to improve conditions.

All facts are taken from the CIA World Factbook, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/xx.html.

Answer: Electric Jam

An Emerson is 1 oz Sweet Vermouth, 1 1/2 oz Gin, the juice of 1/2 lime and 1 tsp Maraschino liqueur, shaken with ice and strained into a glass.

An Enchantress is 1 part Amaretto, 1 part Creme de Cacao, 1 part Triple Sec, a splash of Grenadine, then filled with milk; the alcoholic ingredients are added first to a glass, over ice, then the milk, then the grenadine.

The Evil Blue Thing is 1 1/2 oz Creme de Cacao, 1 oz Blue Curacao and 1/2 oz Light rum.

Answer: Evening Primrose

The Evening Primrose, Onagraceae biennis, is found in most of North America, from the Rocky Mountains to the eastern coast, as well as in most of the world. In Britain it has been naturalized, growing in waste areas, by the train lines and roads. It likes dry soils, meadows and old fields.

The plants often reach 4 to 5 feet in height. The stems are soft, reddish, and branch to form a shrub. The leaves are alternate, hairy, about 3 to 6 inches long and lemon-scented. The yellow flower spikes are about 2 1/2 inches in diameter with four petals and a cross shaped stigma.

It blooms from June to September. The entire plant is edible and is used in alternative medicine. The leaves can be cooked as greens, and the roots like potatoes. This plant was a staple food for many Native American tribes.

Answer: Endo

Emok was found in Paraguay, near Asuncion. In 1981 there were only about 630 people left who spoke the dialect. It is believed to now be extinct.
Esan is another Nigerian language, which is in common usage. It can be heard on television and being taught in schools.
Ewando is a language of Cameroon's Center Province. It is classified as a Niger-Congo language.

Answer: English Setter

The English Foxhound looks rather like a Beagle with long legs. It loves to run, hunt and howl. Its short, hard coat is easy to tend, and normally tricolour (black, white and tan). While good with children and other animals, it particularly likes the company of other dogs. It was developed by interbreeding Greyhounds, Bulldogs and Fox Terriers.

The English Setter is a gently, friendly dog, good with children. English Setters are prone to those problems of larger dogs, such as dysplasia of hip or elbow. Their silky white coat is speckled with colour. The breed descends from Spanish and French pointers.

The English Springer Spaniel is medium in size with a long coat in white with black, tan, liver or blue markings. An energetic dog, the Springer is normally very friendly and devoted to its owner. Lately the breed has been experiencing a problem found in some popular (and therefore, overbred) breeds called "Rage Syndrome". It is a form of epilepsy which can be controlled; it causes an otherwise well-behaved dog to suddenly start attacking people, ignoring its owner's commands. This breed is very old, and was popular during the Renaissance (15th century).

The English Toy Spaniel looks very like a small King Charles Spaniel: so much so that one of the accepted colour patterns is called King Charles, a black and tan coat. They come in three other colour patterns, Blenheim (red and white), Prince Charles (tricolour) and Ruby (red). They normally weigh between 8 and 14 pounds.

Answer: Evidence

Ok, it was Sherlock Holmes who said, "Elementary, my dear Watson.", not Sue Grafton. Nor did she have any of her victims turfed over an escarpment. Far as I know (haven't yet read the book), no one gets executed. That leaves....

Evidence. Someone is trying to set up Kinsey Millhone, the protagonist, by putting money - about 5 grand - into her bank account, then claiming she is on "the take". You'll have to read the book to find out how she proves her innocence and catches the bad guy(s).

Answer: Ralph Waldo Ellison

Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri. He is most famous for his work, "The Waste Land", published when he was 34. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. Today he is well known for the musical adaptation of his book, "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats"; Andrew Lloyd Weber turned it into the musical, "Cats". I'm sure Eliot would have enjoyed it, he was a compulsive practical joker who particularly admired Groucho Marx.

Havelock Ellis was born in 1859 in Croydon, Surry. He studied medicine, and even qualified as a doctor, but only practiced for a short time. He was considered an authority on sex, writing the seven volume "Studies in the Psychology of Sex", but apparently was impotent until he reached the age of 60. His marriage was allegedly sexless; after the virginial honeymoon, he returned to his bachelor flat and his wife lived elsewhere. Needless to say, they did not have any children.... He died in 1939.

Ralph Waldo Ellison was born in in Oklahoma City in 1914. His father died when he was young, and his mother was arrested several times for breaking the rules of segregation. He studied music at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, but left and went to New York to study sculpture. After serving in the Marines in WWII, he wrote his most famous novel, "The Invisible Man", a tale of a black man in segregated America. He lectured widely, and was awarded the Medal of Freedom (1969), Chevalier de l'Ordre des Artes et Lettres (1970). He was a Fellow of the National American Academy of Arts and Letters in Rome (1955-57), vice-president of the American P.E.N. (1964), and vice-president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1967). In 1985 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. He died in 1994 of cancer.

Emerson, after whom Ellison was named, was born in 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a free thinker, a pastor who stopped believing in communion, a teacher who taught that all people should try to live in harmony with nature. He died in 1882.

Answer: Easter Seals

The first "Easter Seals Campaign" was held in 1934, where the seals were placed on envelopes to show support for the campaign. The picture on the stamp was a lily, which has been the charity's logo ever since that date. The charity now serves disabled children and adults in the United States and Canada.

Answer: True

Invented in 1943 by a German called Sommer, it was first called the Sommerphone. It has a wider bore than the tenor tuba; the sweet sound gave it the name Euphonium, from "euphonion", the Greek word for "sweet-voiced". Like the tuba and similar instruments, it traces its history to the serpent, a medieval instrument.

Answer: Eridani

Eridanus, "the river", is visible between latitudes 60 and -90. It is best seen in December. Its alpha star, Achernar ("end of the river") is a spectral class B3Vpe star. Other stars are Cursa (beta star), Zaurak (gamma), Rana (delta), Zibal, Acamar and Sceptrum.

Equuleus, "the foal", is also visible in both hemispheres, between 90 and -70 degrees. It is best viewed in September. Its alpha star, Kitalpha ("part of the horse") is a spectral class G0III+A5V star.

I made up Emerisus and Elnuvius. Couldn't find any other constellations starting with the letter E....