Sapphire is is a name given to all gem varieties of corundum except those of reddish color, which are called ruby. The word sapphire used alone always refers to the blue gemstone. Those of other colors are called, for example, yellow sapphire or pink sapphire, and when colorless are called white sapphire. Stones that show a starlike optical effect when cut in a convex shape are called star sapphires. The effect is produced by reflections from tiny needle-shaped inclusions of the mineral rutile in the sapphire's crystal structure.

A snowshoe consists of a lightweight wood framework that is interlaced with strips of animal hide and attached to the foot for travel over deep snow. Once common only to Eskimos and Indians of the far North, snowshoes are now available commercially and are used by trappers, lumbermen, and sportsmen.

A parody is an imitation of a serious author or literary work designed for comic effect or ridicule. A parody humorously reveals the peculiarities or excesses of the original work. It often takes a serious style of writing and uses it for a trivial subject. A parody sometimes ridicules its subject as a typical example of absurd or sentimental attitudes.

Roulette is a game played in casinos. A roulette wheel is divided into 37 or 38 small sections, which are numbered from 00 to 36 on American wheels and from 0 to 36 on European wheels. The sections are colored alternately red and black, except for the 00 and 0, which are either white or green. The wheel is contained in a wooden dish and is spun by an employee of the casino called a croupier.

Amber is a fossilized resin from prehistoric trees, particularly the pine tree Pinus succinifera. Specimens of amber may be as much as 40 million years old. Evidence of the vegetable origin of the substance is provided by its occurrence in coal and fossil wood deposits. The soft and sticky nature of the original material is indicated by specimens that occasionally are found containing perfectly preserved insects that were trapped by the resin. Such specimens were long prized for their intriguing appearance and are valued by scientists for the record they provide of ancient insect life.

Dandruff is a common condition among men and women of all ages. It is usually only annoying, not an indication of poor health. In some people, the outer layers of the epidermis of the scalp are shed unusually often and in relatively large scales that are easily seen. When there is insufficient secretion of oil from the sebaceous glands, the flakes are white, while yellow scales are produced if the secretion is excessive. The treatment usually consists of shampooing the hair several times a week using a germicidal lotion, but since the cause does not appear to be an infection, this treatment may help the condition but rarely cures it.

These wingless, exopterygote insects belong to the order Phthiraptera of which there are about 250 known species in Australia. Several of these have been introduced with domestic stock and man. Lice are small, flattened insects with large claws for clinging to feathers or hairs. They spend their entire lives as parasites on the surfaces of mammals or birds. Two suborders are represented in Australia, the Mallophaga and the Anoplura.

Damages are sums of money, awarded by civil courts to persons found to be victims of wrongful acts, which must be paid to the victim by the person or persons proven to be legally responsible. Compensatory damages are intended simply to compensate the victim for losses resulting from wrongful conduct. But there are also punitive damages, awarded not merely to compensate the victim but to punish a particularly outrageous wrongdoer.

Espionage, the organized employment of secret agents by governments to obtain information concerning other countries which cannot be obtained by open methods. It also includes the dissemination of false information intended to deceive other countries. As the essence of espionage is secrecy, it follows that any treatise upon the subject, purporting to give details of the inner workings of any particular current system, must be regarded with doubt. Secret information has immense value, especially for military commanders.

A trial, in law, a hearing in court before an impartial judge and often before a jury, at which all the facts relevant to the solution of a legal dispute are developed. The right to a fair trial is guaranteed by the due process clauses of the 5th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.