Peel-and-eat shrimp: What's the point?

[solost]

@hogarth

I like Chinese salt and pepper shrimp where the shell is fried enough that it just becomes a part of the crunchy coating.

Ha, I was going to post about how I heard Neil DeGrasse Tyson say once that he liked to eat shrimp with the shells on, but I wanted to google it to get my facts straight, and look what I found. Looks like both the OP and I have been carapace-challenged for awhile now (I made a few posts in this thread I hardly remember):

Shrimp shells...when do you eat them?

I have seen it said that in some shrimp dishes you can/should eat the shells. What dishes are those? Seems madness to me. In my mind, shrimp shells are up there with eating finger nails. Is this ever a worthwhile thing to do or just peel the shrimp and enjoy? Is there a way to know if you are meant to eat the shells in your shrimp dish without being told?