You don’t expect parakeets in London. But then you hear them. They screech loudly as they zoom through the air, like a green-feathered bullets. They never stop by on my balcony though. I put out some food and get the occasional visitors: magpies, jays, even some crows and unfortunately the dreaded London pigeons, which I try to shoo away quickly. But never the parakeets.

As I sit here, a little jay watching me as it picks up a peanut, I cannot help but wonder if talking about birdwatching makes me sound like an old woman. It’s got that sheen of anoraks and retirement home. But recent statistics tell a different story.

In this week’s edition of Trends & Artefacts, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:

• GLP-1 Coverage Is Becoming a Job Negotiation Factor

• Snacks Fill the Space Alcohol Left Behind

• Cake Picnic Goes Global

• Explainer: slow pop-up

• Creators Get IMDb-Style Verified Credits

In this week’s edition of Trends & Artefacts, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:

• AI Data Centres Are Creating Localised Heat Islands

• Shelf Lets You Share What You're Into, Not How You Look

• A Wearable Translates Mouthed Words Into Speech

• Explainer: Alpine Divorce

• A Children's Book That Only Works in the Dark

In this week’s edition of Trends & Artefacts, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:

• Fashion Week Watch Parties Fill 2,000 Seats

• Schools Are Renting Out Empty Buildings to Fund Themselves

• An App That Sends You the Wrong Way on Purpose

• Explainer: Stacked Water

• A Dating App Built Around Mood Boards, Not Profiles

In this week’s edition of Trends & Artefacts, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:

• Snail Mail Is Becoming a Serious Side Income

• Travellers Prioritise Experiences Over Things

• Adult Summer Camps Arrive in Europe

• Explainer: Skillcation

• Tinned Fish Becomes an Affordable Luxury

Which supermarket has the best caterpillar cake?

Which? has actually just released the results of a blind taste test of 9 supermarket caterpillar cakes, and Waitrose's Cecil came first. M&S Colin - the OG, the icon, the one that started it all in 1990 - came last with 64%.

So I pulled YouScan social listening data to understand what's actually being said online. And it turns out people are not just picking a favourite. They're evaluating caterpillar cakes on a surprisingly specific set of criteria: the ratio of buttercream to sponge, the structural integrity of the chocolate coating, the aesthetic quality of the face and feet.

The choice of cake has become a form of social signalling. For many people, the caterpillar cake isn't really a cake. It's a ceremonial object. And the thickness of the chocolate shell is a measure of how much you care.

So why has nobody ever successfully premiumised it?