5 things we learned this week

1 The checked shirt is this winter’s must-wear item. Ever since Kate Moss strutted down the Bottega Veneta runway in September wearing a blue flannel button-up (below), fashionistas have hopped on to the trend, says Vogue, layering plaid over white tank-tops for a warm winter outfit. Pair with glossy hair, polished accessories and heeled boots, so the relaxed look ‘doesn’t stray into teenage territory’.

2 Franglais is creeping into all aspects of French life – triggering complaints about tourist adverts riddled with English words. The city of Nice’s slogan is ‘I Love Nice’, for example, and another Mediterranean resort uses ‘Happy days à La Ciotat’. The Académie Française, whose duty is to maintain linguistic standards, has now set up a committee to ensure there are appropriate French translations for obscure sports such as breakdancing, which will feature as an Olympic sport for the first time in the Games in Paris in 2024.

3 Pop bands are increasingly ditching the encore. Many musicians believe it is a ‘charade’, says The Washington Post, to walk off stage knowing they’ll come back on again. Some make it clear that won’t be the case. ‘We just effing play till the show is over,’ Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl often tells audiences.

4 A disproportionate number of leading American politicians are called John. When Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman has been sworn in to office in January, says the US newsletter Morning Brew, exactly ten per cent of the US Senate will have the first name Jon or John.

5 While the vast majority of energy in Finland is spent heating homes, saunas make up 5.5 per cent of total household electricity usage alone.

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