Do a search on Google Finance for the word “sell,” and Google returns the stock chart for Apple. Why? Some thought Google had rigged this as an “Easter Egg” or joke. However, Google says this isn’t so.

In the first edition of this story, I could see no good reason why this was happening, something spotted by PFhub and which has since been noted by The Next Web and also a discussion on Reddit.

I’d seen a few comments that this was due to the Reuters-description that Google Finance shows for Apple having the word “sell” in it several times. Google tells us that is indeed the case, sending Search Engine Land this explanation:

This isn’t deliberate — our algorithms seem to be keying off of the words “sell” and “sells” in the description of this very popular stock symbol. We’re working on how to adjust things so it doesn’t happen anymore.