In fact

Garden gnomes were first brought to England from Germany in 1847 by Charles Isham, a spiritualist who hoped they would attract real gnomes to his Northamptonshire garden. Daily Telegraph, 22nd July 2010

China has removed the death penalty for 13 crimes, including fraud and smuggling rare animals; 55 offences are still subject to capital punishment. AFP, 25th February 2011

In 2009-10, 8.6 per cent of adults in England and Wales took illegal drugs—the lowest figure since 1996. British Crime Survey, January 2011

Less than 15 per cent of Wikipedia’s contributors are women. New York Times, 30th January 2011

More than four in ten Britons wear pyjamas, up from 29 per cent in 2000. Daily Mail, 15th November 2010

Of the top ten highest-grossing tours by music acts in 2010, seven had an average age of over 40. Number one was Jon Bon Jovi, aged 48; his tour took £130.1m. The Independent, 30th December 2010

Over the last five years, the Royal Mail has spent £5m on 4bn red rubber bands.BBC News website, 20th February 2011

Worldwide, people spend a total of 200m minutes each day playing the mobile phone game Angry Birds, amounting to 16 years’ worth of time every hour. Wired, April 2011

HG Wells’s last words were “Go away. I’m all right.” “HG Wells” by Vincent Brome