The term 'long stretches' can be defined by four and five letter words such as EONS, aeons, ERAS, EPOCHS, and AGES. EONS refer to a very long period of time, usually millions of years. Aeons are similar to EONS, but are even longer periods of time. ERAS are also long periods of time, but are usually used to refer to a specific period in history. EPOCHS are similar to ERAS, but are shorter in length. Lastly, AGES are the longest periods of time, usually referring to the entire history of the world.