The Lobster Claw Game, Right Next to the Gum and Diet Sodas
Popping up at convenience stores across the country, this $2-per play claw game doesn't catch goofy stuffed animals, but live lobsters. Maneuver the grabber contraption, just like proto versions with inanimate prizes, and attempt lobster wrangling. Love Maine Lobsters Co., the producers of this $15,950 machine, insist that claws are gentle, slow-moving and harmless for the crustaceans, but anybody who's seen Toy Story knows the lime green aliens didn't want to be scooped up. Lobsters likely feel the same way.
Crabby Bill's in St. Petersburg, Florida and Dick's Last Resort in San Diego both have one, as do other restaurants and convenience stores sprinkled across the country. Find one quick before the same animal rights activists who forced Whole Foods into yanking live lobster tanks from national stores, discover this. [via eatgeek]
Watch a video of the machine in action after the jump.
News Report on the Lobster Claw Game
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9 Comments:
the photo looks like a goldfish-catcher game.
dmarina at 1:37PM on 05/13/08
I love Crabby Bills. Everyone there seems solidly drunk at the bar at 3 in the afternoon and they look like they come from the Mod Squad. The old Mod Squad.
I can't imagine anyone managing to catch one of those lobsters. But boy it sure would be better than candy or a strange-looking stuffed animal or a plastic watch.
Karen Resta at 1:46PM on 05/13/08
@dmarina: Sorry, wrong Marine Catcher...back to the lobstery version now!
roboppy at 1:48PM on 05/13/08
Ummm...
The aliens in _Toy Story_ worshiped The Claw as a god. They loved it when they were chosen. The only reason Buzz and Woody didn't want anyone to be chosen was that the evil kid doing the choosing was notorious for destroying and defacing toys.
Much like happens to lobsters when they're cooked and eaten...
TheStu at 2:01PM on 05/13/08
We have this machine at a bar down the street from us. A couple of the puny lobsters have money rubberbanded to their claw to entice someone to go after them. It's funny- because the lobsters have it mostly figured out and stay at the edges of the tank. Poor tasty lobsters.
bisbee at 2:09PM on 05/13/08
Remove the bands from the lobster's claws and then I'll put my dollars in and take my chance that they will grab and hold on. Drawn butter, anyone?
PerkyMac at 2:14PM on 05/13/08
Nice Toy Story correction, TheStu. You're right, the naive aliens didn't realize that The Claw was setting them up for an evil massacre by way of that punk Sid. Agreed that lobsters probably have similar intuition to squishy 3-eyed alien toys. I guess that makes all of us Sid.
Erin Zimmer at 2:38PM on 05/13/08
I PLAYED THIS IN FLORIDA!
Seth Lavin at 4:03PM on 05/13/08
Convenience stores? What slurpee pairs well with lobster?
OneWallKitchen at 5:33PM on 05/13/08