# Do you know what a lobster looks like? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813 "2012-08-27T13:21:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/1 "2012-08-27T13:21:38Z")
This might seem like a strange question… Yesterday I was sitting at a cafe and saw a woman wearing a lobster-shaped brooch. It looked like it was made out of silver and diamonds. I complemented her on it, and asked if she had bought it locally. She said that it was a gift from someone who bought it online. The she said that she lives in California, and people there constantly ask her what it is. Most guess that it’s a scorpion. Do people outside of New England really not know what a Maine lobster looks like? (I couldn’t tell you what a rock lobster looks like.) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/2 "2012-08-27T13:38:30Z")
Yes, I do. And I always did…but I was certainly less familiar with it when I lived in MI as opposed to living in NY. And I didn’t have a whole cooked lobster in front of me until I was at least 25. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/3 "2012-08-27T13:44:12Z")
maybe people know what a lobster looks like but this particular brooch was more ambiguous? i would imagine a lot less people confusing a live lobster or a cooked lobster for a scorpion. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/4 "2012-08-27T13:51:52Z")
The lobsters found in California waters do not have claws. That might be one reason for the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/5 "2012-08-27T13:54:23Z")
She was probably wishing that you would just leave her alone but realized that you can’t because it’s in your nature. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/6 "2012-08-27T13:54:37Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > maybe people know what a lobster looks like but this particular brooch was more ambiguous? That particular brooch didn’t look at all ambiguous to me. But it was definitley closer in size to a scorpion than a lobster. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/7 "2012-08-27T13:56:12Z")
I live on the Gulf Coast but have seen many a Maine Lobster swimming listlessly in a tank. And there’s that TV thing… Of course I know what a lobster looks like! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/8 "2012-08-27T14:01:44Z")
> [@Mister\_Owl](#): > > The lobsters found in California waters do not have claws. That might be one reason for the confusion. Say what? ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/9 "2012-08-27T14:02:13Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > That particular brooch didn’t look at all ambiguous to me. But it was definitley closer in size to a scorpion than a lobster. Who’d wear a diamond encrusted silver brooch the actual same size as a lobster, though? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/10 "2012-08-27T14:03:29Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > Who’d wear a diamond encrusted silver brooch the actual same size as a lobster, though? Who could afford one? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/11 "2012-08-27T14:05:29Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > Who’d wear a diamond encrusted silver brooch the actual same size as a lobster, though? I have a map of the USA. The scale is 1:1. When people ask me where I live, I say E7. - Steven Wright. ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/12 "2012-08-27T14:09:15Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Who could afford one? Possibly a fabulously wealthy person who happens to share your unusual view that animal brooches ought to be lifesize. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/13 "2012-08-27T14:13:41Z")
I know what they both look like and I think they’re shaped very similarly, especially when depicted as gems. I also think things like scorpions and black widow spiders show up as jewelry more often than seafood does. Except in Maine, of course. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/14 "2012-08-27T14:18:29Z")
A lobster looks like a giant [crawdad](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ag6WKr3jBqo/UA9PojoebpI/AAAAAAAAqlM/MTVN_YnuXOs/s320/crawdads.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/15 "2012-08-27T14:19:05Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Say what? [California Spiny Lobster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_spiny_lobster) If you wish to pick at nits I will correct myself by saying they do not have pronounced claws. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/16 "2012-08-27T14:19:37Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I have a map of the USA. The scale is 1:1. When people ask me where I live, I say E7. - Steven Wright. I have a large seashell collection which I keep scattered on the beaches all over the world. Maybe you’ve seen it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/17 "2012-08-27T14:23:00Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I have a large seashell collection which I keep scattered on the beaches all over the world. Maybe you’ve seen it. I think I stepped on one of them yesterday. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/18 "2012-08-27T14:30:57Z")
> [@Mister\_Owl](#): > > [California Spiny Lobster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_spiny_lobster) > > If you wish to pick at nits I will correct myself by saying they do not have pronounced claws. What do they taste like? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/19 "2012-08-27T15:04:55Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What do they taste like? Chicken. Forgive me, I couldn’t resist. Actually, they taste pretty much like any lobster tail. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813/20 "2012-08-27T15:36:00Z")
No one in California has ever heard of [Red Lobster?](http://www.redlobster.com/locator_g/default.aspx?q=california) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-a-lobster-looks-like/632813.md?page=2)