Coal the heat and pressure of deep burial causes the loss of water, methane and carbon dioxide and an increase in the proportion of carbon. Thus first lignite (also called "brown coal"), then sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, and lastly anthracite (also called "hard coal" or "black coal") may be formed. The wide, shallow seas of the Carboniferous Period provided ideal conditions for coal formation, although coal is known from most geological periods. The exception is the coal gap in the Permian–Triassic extinction event, where coal is rare. Coal is known from Precambrian strata, which predate land plants—this coal is presumed to
What Cheer, Iowa suggested the name "What Cheer," and the town was officially renamed on December 1, 1879. Sources differ as to why the name What Cheer was chosen. The phrase "what cheer with you" is an ancient English greeting dating back at least to the 15th century. One theory of the name is that a Scottish miner exclaimed "What cheer!" on discovering a coal seam near town. A more elaborate theory suggests that Joseph Andrews chose the name because of one of the founding myths of his native town of Providence, Rhode Island. According to the story, when Roger Williams arrived at