Strange BUT TRUE

It was English journalist, political essayist and novelist George Orwell, probably best known for his works “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and “Animal Farm,” who made the following sage observation: “Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting.”

• Considering their unsavory

reputation, you might be surprised to learn that jackals often help raise their younger siblings, even after they’re fully grown.

• If you want to have an especially memorable — and chilly — vacation, consider heading to Finnish Lapland. There, more than 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle, you can stay at

the Kakslauttanen Hotel. The quarters aren’t luxurious, but the sights are amazing. All the accommodations are geodesic glass igloos, offering amazing views of the aurora borealis.

• Are you a snollygoster? If so,

you’re shrewd — and that isn’t a bad thing, of course. However, it also means that you’re rather lacking in principles, a trait you might not want to advertise.

• The next time you’re

tempted to whip out the plastic to make a purchase, you might want to consider this little factoid: The average American spends 20 percent to 30 percent more when using a credit card than when paying with cash.

• The heaviest rainfall in a

24-hour period ever to fall in the United States occurred in Alvin, Texas, in 1979. In that year, a total of 43 inches of rain fell in the space of a single day. Thought for the Day: “Catch-and-release, that’s like running down pedestrians in your car and then, when they get up and limp away, saying — Off you go! That’s fine. I just wanted to see if I could hit you.”

— Ellen DeGeneres