1. era

A. Loosely speaking, an ERA is any referenced time period. In the discipline of history, eras define periods such as the Roman era, when Rome was the considered the world center of culture and influence, and the Victorian era in Great Britain, running proximate to the reign of Queen Victoria I (from 1837 to 1901). Cultural enthusiasts also make use of the term era to define socio-cultural periods, especially in music, such as the Big Band era and the Motown era.

B. When culturally significant television shows go off the air or seminal figures in the arts pass away, it is common for commentaries or obituaries to reference “the end of an era.”

C. The time related words era, eon (also spelled aeon), and age are common crossword words. All three words allow for easier placement in a grid because they are short and contain more vowels than consonants.

D. The longest geologic time spans are eons, which are further divided into eras. Eras are comprised of periods, and periods are further divided into epochs. Epochs are comprised of stages. We are currently living in the Cenozoic era of the Phanerozoic eon. The Cenozoic era dates back 65.5 million years to when mammals became the dominant creatures on Earth.

E. ERA is an acronym for the Equal Rights Amendment. The earliest incarnation of the Equal Rights Amendment was written by suffragist Alice Paul and submitted to Congress for consideration in 1923. Over the course of the next fifty years, the amendment was routinely submitted for approval by Congress.

The ERA came closest to acceptance by the United States in the early 1970s. The amendment, a section of which stated, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex,” passed the House of Representatives in 1971 and the Senate in 1972 at which time it was submitted to the states for approval.

Only 35 of the 38 states required had approved the amendment by the deadline seven years later on March 22, 1979. Additionally, five of the states that had approved subsequently withdrew their support for the amendment before the deadline. An extension for ratifying the amendment within 39 months did not spur further interest from the states. The general objection to its adoption seemed to be that women’s rights had advanced through various other pieces of legislation to the point where a formal amendment was unnecessary.

The ERA continues to be submitted to sessions of Congress for approval.

F. ERA is an acronym for the baseball statistic known as the earned run average. The earned run average is calculated as the mean number of runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings. Runs are not earned if they occur as the result of an error or a passed ball (a ball that is deemed catchable by the official scorer but is missed by the catcher).

When a relief pitcher enters the game, any players on base belong to the departing pitcher, so runs scored by them contribute to the departing pitcher’s ERA, not to the reliever’s.

G. Era has occasionally been used as a brand name or as part of a brand name. Era laundry detergent is a product of Procter & Gamble, the same manufacturer that produces Tide.

New Era potato chips were popular in the 1950s and 1960s and were often sold in tins on which dubious claims were printed. These blurbs were paired with silhouettes of thin, athletic people, an approach that would earn scorn from critics in contemporary society given the association between snack food and obesity. At the time, the chips were marketed as “A Healthy Food … on the Alkaline Side” and “Scientifically Processed.” Here is a blurb from one of the cans:

SCIENCE SAYS … THE ALKALINE SIDE IS THE HEALTHY SIDENEW ERA

Potato Chips are partially starch dextrinized and therefore more easily digested….

Chemical analyses have proven NEW ERA Potato Chips to be a highly concentrated energy producing food, 95% digestible and of greater alkalinity than even fresh raw potatoes.

FEAST WITHOUT FEAR

I can’t be sure. Are dextrinization and alkalinity good for you?