Sideswipe: November 27: Queen of the colours

Queen Elizabeth's habit of wearing bright colours is self-imposed—but her attention- seeking style is for a very good reason. "At public events, the Queen of England often arrives sporting neon shades, from lime green to robin's egg blue. Though her classy hats and jackets are typical for a royal, the playful colours they come in may seem like an unusual statement for the 94-year-old queen. Her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, revealed that chooses the bold outfits, not for herself, but for the spectators who come to see her. She needs to stand out for people to be able to say 'I saw the Queen'," Sophie said in the documentary The Queen at 90.

A rare Papamoa octopus lemon

Giant grapes

Novelty fruits are particularly popular in Japan, where specialised shops can sell certain varieties of apples, peaches, melons or grapes for mind-boggling prices. A Vietnamese owner of a market stall shared some photos of a new variety of grapes imported from Japan. Using social media to promote new her new products Khuc Ngoc Anh, the owner of a high-end fruit shop in Xuan La, Hanoi, posted the photos of the giant grapes alongside an actual chicken egg to show just how huge the grapes were. The marketing worked, and in just a few minutes all the 50 bunches she had ordered were sold.

Did you know?

'Dark patterns' are tricks used by websites and apps to make you do something you don't want to. They actively get in the way of you doing things (like hiding opt out buttons as subtle text) rather than gently discouraging you. One of them is 'confirmshaming': the wording of the 'opt-out' feature which makes you feel guilty for not subscribing. Another states that before cancelling your subscription you must agree to the following: "Your presentations will become visible to anyone on the web"…yeah, right.

Three-way pun

"Noting a few puns recently I thought you might be interested in what was once described as the only known three word pun," writes  Morris Jones. "The story goes: Two brothers purchased a beef farm and they wrote to their mother asking if she had any suggestions of what they could call the farm. The mother wrote back suggesting they call the farm, 'Focus.' Intrigued they wrote back to their mother saying it seemed a great name but why did she pick the word 'Focus.' The mother replied, "Because that is where the sons raise meat." (The sun's rays meet)."