5 things we learned this week

1 Jacob Rees-Mogg has a carriage clock with the letters M, O, G and G where the numbers 12, 3, 6 and 9 would normally be. Eagle-eyed viewers spotted the personalised timepiece when the Tory MP was interviewed from home on BBC1. He later revealed that it was a family heirloom made by a Somerset quarry firm which doubled as a firm of undertakers.

2 Cassette tapes are back in fashion. The music format which dates back to 1963 offers a notoriously low-quality sound, but a combination of low production costs, nostalgia and limited-edition releases by the likes of Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish saw UK cassette sales reach 185,000 last year, their highest level since 2003. One US manufacturer makes 30million tapes a year.

3 Donald Trump’s hopes of becoming US President again could be wrecked by his Diet Coke habit. Reportedly, a key provider of evidence in the Justice Department’s inquiry into whether government documents were removed from the White House to his Mara-Lago home in Florida was employed by Trump to serve a glass of the drink on a silver platter after being summoned by a red button in the Oval Office.

4 Actors sometimes forget their own name mid-role. According to researchers at University College London, our brains are wired so that when most people’s names are called out – even across a crowded room or busy social event – they recognise and lock on to the sound. This is known as the ‘cocktail party effect’. But for actors, because they are so deeply involved in the identity of the character they are playing, the natural reaction to their own name becomes less acute.

5 The stereotype of the White Van Man – rude, poorly educated and with strong opinions – is outdated. A study has found that 43 per cent of van drivers are women, half of whom read a broadsheet newspaper and a third of whom practise yoga.