What the Shell? Cracking the Lobster's Mysteries

Gastropod

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Arts, Science, History, Food

4.7 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2020

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Consider the lobster roll: tender chunks of lobster bathed in butter or mayo, sandwiched between two slices of a squishy bread roll… Have we caught your attention yet? Lobster is a summertime staple in New England, a fixture on casino and cruise ship buffets, and a steady partner for steak in the classic surf 'n' turf. Today, the American lobster industry is the single most valuable fishery in the country—but it wasn’t always so. This episode, we're cracking the lobster's many mysteries, including how it went from prison fare to fancy food. There's also the question of what lobster eyes have to do with both the International Space Station and the belief in Intelligent Design, plus the rollicking tale of why it took scientists so long to locate the lobster penis—and what makes lobster sex so, well, steamy? Listen in now for the lobster lore you never knew you needed to know! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You know, I still get emails about this episode of the show Friends where Ross and Rachel,
0:06.3	the character, is finally hooked up after this long, emigrant romance and Phoebe, who's
0:11.6	kind of the tree hugger in the group.
0:14.1	She's like, oh, look, I knew it.
0:16.8	He's her lobster.
0:18.5	Because she has this kind of pop culture idea going that lobsters make for life.
0:23.1	Hang in there, it's gonna happen.
0:25.3	Okay, now how do you know that?
0:28.2	She's your lobster.
0:29.2	Come on, you guys, it's a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life.
0:34.5	And you know what, you can actually see old lobster couples walking around their tank,
0:38.9	you know, holding claws.
0:40.7	See?
0:41.7	He's her lobster.
0:47.0	All these years later, I can still hear Phoebe in my head saying that she convinced millions
0:51.6	of people that lobsters are super romantic.
0:54.4	Honestly, all I care is that lobsters are super delicious.
0:58.8	But I guess it's good that they have some happiness before ending up inside a buttered
1:02.8	roll.
1:03.8	A delicious, delicious lobster roll.
1:05.7	I live in New England and lobsters are pretty much the pinnacle of summer here.
1:09.4	Perfect.
	...

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