Posted on 01/10/2009 3:42:21 AM PST by Daffynition
NEW YORK (AP) -- A 140-year-old lobster once destined for a dinner plate received the gift of life Friday from a Park Avenue seafood restaurant.
George, the 20-pound supercentenarian crustacean, was freed by City Crab and Seafood in New York City.
"We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace," said Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said the group asked City Crab to return George to the Atlantic Ocean after a diner saw him at the restaurant, where steamed Maine lobster sells for $27 per pound. George had been caught off Newfoundland, Canada and lived in the tank for about 10 days before his release.
Some scientists estimate lobsters can live to be more than 100 years old. PETA and the restaurant guessed George's age at about 140, using a rule of thumb based on the creature's weight.
He was to be released Saturday near Kennebunkport, Maine, in an area where lobster trapping is forbidden.
In this photo released by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, "George," a live 20 pound lobster rests on a plate at City Crab and Seafood in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009. City Crab and Seafood has spared the lobster, which is expected to be released Saturday, Jan. 10, near Kennebunkport, Maine, in an area where lobster trapping is forbidden. PETA and the restaurant gauged George's age at about 140, using a rule of thumb based on the creature's weight. (AP Photo/P.E.T.A.)
Rule: If you catch a 20 lb. lobster...don’t tell anyone...just “Enjoy”!!
How in the world has our society gotten this screwed up?
These people, the restaurant and obviously PETA, are complete and utter morons!
I’m pleased with this outcome. After 140 years, getting gobbled by some NYC nouveau riche plonker is a helluva way to go.
Probably a good breeder.
I may be wrong, and if I am I am sure someone will tell me, but I know of NO animal where eating one that is old and has one foot in the grave is better than something in it’s prime or early prime.
Older animals are tougher, and have less of the good flavors and nuances than younger ones.
And they have more of the unpleasant qualities than more prime stuff.
eaten by a shark on way back down
who would pay $540 to eat george?
LOL ... Only thing is, I would bet that if George was steamed and eaten, he’d be tough as shoe leather. I’d much rather have ten 2lb. lobstahs! Thank you very much!
> Older animals are tougher, and have less of the good flavors and nuances than younger ones.
And they have more of the unpleasant qualities than more prime stuff.
I can believe that would probably be true of Lobsters, too: 140 years of eating carrion (like dead people) at the bottom of the mucky ocean, absorbing heaps of mercury and what-all else. Probably wouldn’t taste as nice as a younger lobster, as you say.
Thing is, lobsters do not stay still. They should tag him before releasing him.
My bet is he will wind up on someones plate within the yeat.
It’s New York.
They said they would release the lobster to get PETA off their back.
They upped the price per pound for the lobster and then took the loss for their taxes.
They got free advertising and probably have a save the lobster campaign going where patrons can buy the lobster to set free.
They then change the rubber bands on the claws every two days and keep setting free the same lobsters.
George then got cut up in the kitchen and is now part of the lobster bisque.
(giggle!)
You talkin’ ta me??
We're going to have to build lobster sanctuaries everywhere!
You have accurately assessed the situation. It’s New York ... shell games on the streets are outlawed....so they move indoors. Ba-da-bing.
Gotta tell ya!
That fried, breaded lobster thingy,
that sounds GOOOOOD!!!!
Bit of lemon, touch of wasabi... Yumm!!!
Hmm.. you are correct. Then I would suggest wait until the next molt ends, tag him and track him for a year.
Not going to matter. He will be dinner within a couple of months.
Ummmm... Dude.... That’s illegal in 46 states!
A: With some 140 year old butter and some OLD Bay seasoning.
Called The Lobster Zone, the machine is an updated version of the arcade claw game where children drop in a quarter and maneuver a tiny crane in hopes of snagging a prize.
The Lobster Zone's customers do the same thing, except they try to capture crustaceans.
For $2 a pop, players get 15 seconds to maneuver their claw over one of a dozen or so lobsters in a 50-gallon tank. If the claw falls just right, it will entangle and retrieve one of the creatures. The restaurant then boils the tasty crustacean and the player gets a cheap lobster dinner.
``If you're really good at it, you can eat lobster for $2. ... You can't beat that,'' said Ted Hammerman, who owns the Mr. Fish restaurant in Myrtle Beach.
Hammerman has had The Lobster Zone for about three weeks and said the game is popular with customers.
``I've already gone through four batches of lobsters,'' he said.
Dylen Larsen, manager of Sand Dollars in Surfside Beach, said: ``There's no time of day that you can't see someone playing that machine. ... It's the most popular one we have.''
Larsen said customers at his restaurant already have taken The Lobster Zone for 40 crustaceans in just two weeks.
It's best to play the game soon after a fresh batch of lobsters has been dumped into the tank, Hammerman said. The Lobster Zone plays the theme from the movie ``Jaws'' whenever the game is activated and it doesn't take long for the lobsters to get spooked by the music.
``After a while, the lobsters learn what that music means,'' Hammerman said. ``Their antennas go up, and they try to get away from the claw.''
The Lobster Zone was invented by the aptly named J.R. Fishman, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., entrepreneur. Fishman recently told Business Week magazine that the game is selling so well he can hardly keep up with the demand.
Fishman's company, Advanced Games & Engineering, sells about 10 tanks a week for $8,995 apiece. Restaurant owners say it's a good investment -- many are making $1,000 a week on the machines.
``People love it to death,'' said Mickey Moss, owner of Florence-based Moss Amusement Co., which is South Carolina's Lobster Zone distributor.
Moss said he has sold or leased 13 Lobster Zones in the past year, about one-third of them to Grand Strand restaurants. A pair of companies -- Inland Seafood of Atlanta and Low Country Lobster of Charleston -- keep the machines full of lobsters.
That or Caroline Kennedy will have lobster to celebrate her appointment to the Senate.
Seafood such as large lobster, shrimp and scallops only get tough when they are overcooked, and not because of size.
That’s hilarious!
The Few. The Proud. The Lobsters.
I second that motion.
China would put up with them about 20 min, and then Amnesty International would need to be called.
Good, I’m glad they let him live.
He’s probably tough. lol
Well, that’s pretty stupid, too!
Yup, they are pretty freaking mental.
I’ll bet PETA’s hurting now that Madoff ripped for so many of their donors...
Actually, I just noted this gem at Drudge. Afraid that I don’t have the fortitude to get past the headline and first paragraph;
“Revealed: the environmental impact of Google searches
Physicist Alex Wissner-Gross says that performing two Google searches uses up as much energy as boiling the kettle for a cup of tea”
Ridiculousness ... and it’s spreading. An epidemic.
“Did Wissner-Gross calculate this with an abacus and write up his report with a pencil and paper? Thought not.”
I’m going to do several Google searches now, just for the heck of it .... if the lights flicker or power surges at your place, it’s just me, enlarging my carbon footprint.
Who is this imbecile?
Lets make him famous.
Source please?
Actually, I think one of the folks on the thread that you started got it right; this is the template for the international “penny-a-search” tax.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.