# Don't assume I wanna murder a lobster **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 28, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137 "2003-05-28T23:09:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/101 "2003-06-04T12:19:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kellibelli \* > \*\*Giving a live lobster a bad move?? BAH! Any man who gives me lobster gets sex. Period. > > \*\* …is this where we “Ask The Gorton’s Fisherman”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/102 "2003-06-05T02:36:21Z")
I like how that Andy writes, he makes me smile. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/103 "2003-07-01T17:43:41Z")
Sorry to resurrect a sleeping thread, but I’ve always questioned the “throw them in the freezer for a few minutes, then their death will be painless” theory. I’ve caught lobsters in 37 degree water, and they were quite frisky at the time. I’m not sure how a quick dip into 20 degree air is going to leave them too dopey (no pun intended) to realize they’re being boiled, when they spend their lives in water nearly as cold. And if you feel bad about boiling a lobster, spend a few minutes playing with its claws. After the swelling goes down, you’ll be gloating as you cook the sucker. ---
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/104 "2003-07-01T20:29:42Z")
Ya, just dump 'em in boiling water head first and cover the pot quickly! Don’t bother with sticking a knife in their brains because that just gets water into the shell making the meat not as tasty, imo. I love lobster, always have, even as a kid i would eat the whole body. ---
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/105 "2003-07-01T20:29:50Z")
Ya, just dump 'em in boiling water head first and cover the pot quickly! Don’t bother with sticking a knife in their brains because that just gets water into the shell making the meat not as tasty, imo. I love lobster, always have, even as a kid i would eat the whole body. yum!! ---
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/106 "2003-07-01T20:31:51Z")
double post sorry ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/107 "2003-07-01T21:09:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lezlers \* > \*\*Okay, yeah, this shit is funny. > > And I’m a vegan. > > I’ve only got one thing to say about the OP though. If more people were forced to kill their own food, the world would have a hell of a lot more vegetarians. 😃 \*\* I doubt it. Back when most people _did_ kill their own food, there were a hell of a lot fewer vegetarians. The reason people get squeamish about these matters nowadays is that they’re sheltered from certain realities until later in life, instead of learning _exactly_ where meat comes from in early childhood and taking the process for granted. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/108 "2003-07-02T05:30:37Z")
Ever notice how vegetarianism of the “I just think it’s cruel” kind is almost exclusively a white urban thing? Aside from religious beliefs, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/109 "2003-07-02T12:59:25Z")
I remember Chris Rock talking about how much of a white, suburban thing food allergies are. He said, “You wouldn’t see a lactose-intolerant person in Somalia.” Maybe if people had to kill their own food in the pampered, civilized setting in which we live, there’d be more vegetarians. MAYBE. But, if there were no grocery stores or alternate protein sources, or if your food was ALSO TRYING TO KILL YOU, I’m pretty sure that vegetarians would die out pretty quickly. And I’ll state for the record, that if I had to hunt something and kill it for food, and the vegan put up less of a fight (or ran slower) than whatever animal I was trying to kill, well, sorry vegan. Looks like being on the peaceful side of the food pyramid didn’t work out so good for you. ---
**Author:** ![LarryBobb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@LarryBobb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LarryBobb)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/110 "2003-07-02T13:54:37Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember Chris Rock talking about how much of a white, suburban thing food allergies are. He said, “You wouldn’t see a lactose-intolerant person in Somalia.” Yeah, except that as we all know from having read the collected works of Cecil and company, [people of african descent are more likely to be lactose intolerant than those of european descent](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030321.html). And I think that the vegetarians do have some good points. The amount of grain needed to grow an animal to maturity is significantly greater than the amount it would take to feed a person a comparable amount of human-digestable grain. Therefore eating meat is less sustainable. The way that many animals are raised and slaughtered is inhumane, etc, etc… As for being a matter of survival, if you have the disposable income to get online and the free time to post to the SD board, it’s not about survival, it’s about choice. You have chosen to be an omnivore. So have I. But I don’t believe that I’ve taken the moral high ground or anything, just the path of least resistance in a primarily omnivore society. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/111 "2003-07-02T14:09:35Z")
Well, we were talking “ifs” here to begin with. “If” I had to kill my own food, and so on. I eat meat because I think it tastes good. That’s really the only reason. I know people htat don’t eat meat for any number of reasons, from moral to “it doesn’t taste good.” I don’t think that people who choose to restrict their diet in any manner have a moral edge over anyone with a different diet. It’s just what they choose to eat. As far as the “sustainable” argument goes, it’s not mathematically relevant. People are not starving because all the grain is going to feed the cows. People are starving because nations and corporations dump their grain reserves periodically in the name of price stablility. It’s not about survival. I am lucky enough to be able to eat what I want. But if I do want meat (and I do, I most certainly do), I don’t want to hear a lecture about how evil I am. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/112 "2003-07-02T14:18:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Happy Scrappy Hero Pup \* > \*\* > People are not starving because all the grain is going to feed the cows. People are starving because nations and corporations dump their grain reserves periodically in the name of price stablility. > \*\* There’s also the arguement that there _is_ enough food in the world to feed everyone, but the problem is distribution. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/113 "2003-07-02T16:51:14Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by lezlers_ > I’ve only got one thing to say about the OP though. If more people were forced to kill their own food, the world would have a hell of a lot more vegetarians. 😃 True, but if more people were forced to build their own aeroplanes, the world wouldn’t have so many international flights. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/114 "2003-07-02T17:53:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gex gex \* > \*\*True, but if more people were forced to build their own aeroplanes, the world wouldn’t have so many international flights. \*\* Bah! My pithy response beat yours by over a month 😉 ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/115 "2003-07-02T19:51:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kunoichi \* > \*\*Hey, if anyone thinks dropping live lobsters in boiling water is bad, I heard that in Japan they have kind of an extreme form of sushi where they take the lobster and dismember it in various ways, and serve it to you on a platter. Apparently you can still see the eyes moving and internal organs throbbing… > > On a slightly related note, check out Ethel the Opera Lobster at [Gobler Toys](http://www.goblertoys.com). \*\* I just wanted to post that I have actually eaten this dish (In canada). My friend knows the owners of a Japanese resturant and we were treated to this dish (normal cost, $120! we had it for $80). The lobster is moving (the arms didn’t move, but the mouth/antenna did) and sashami was placed all over the dish. Lobster sashami is pretty good but nothing special. After we were done the rest of the lobster (the head and arms) were cooked and brought out as lobster noodle soup. Yum. I like lobster enough that if I was rich enough to have it more often I’d buy all the equipment to cook them myself. These days I usually just buy pre-cooked at the local seafood store when I can afford it. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/116 "2003-07-03T16:09:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by badmana \* > [ > I like lobster enough that if I was rich enough to have it more often I’d buy all the equipment to cook them myself. These days I usually just buy pre-cooked at the local seafood store when I can afford it. \*\* Buy all the equipment? All you really need is a big pot - probably $12-15 at a department store. Doesn’t have to be anything special - I use an enameled steel pot that works great. If you want to steam instead of boil (which IMHO is much better), pick up a $6 folding steamer basket, or just throw some river rocks in the bottom of the pot, ala Food Network’s “Good Eats”. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/117 "2003-07-03T17:34:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > The coast of Maine is to the South and East, therefore if you are in say Bangor (that’s Bang-Gore, not Bang-er) you refer to the coast as being “Downeast”. > > The term was essentially co-opted to refer to anyone from Maine Nope, this is not the origin. It is a nautical term referring to the prevailing winds and for sailors maine was “down-wind”, to leeward (correctly pronounced “loo-ward”) and east: down-east. Plenty of references can be found. ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/118 "2003-07-03T18:17:54Z")
I don’t appreciate walking into Red Lobster and having to pick my lobster out of the tank. I just want to order off the menu! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Physiognomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@The\_Physiognomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Physiognomist)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137/119 "2003-07-03T22:49:14Z")
I have a sudden urge now to buy a live lobster and keep it as a pet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-assume-i-wanna-murder-a-lobster/178137.md?page=5)