«"When life gives you lemons, order lobster instead"—you'll hear this quote every day, because lobsters have been eaten for thousands of years, and they're no less a delicacy. Beneath that beautiful red exoskeleton lies a crustacean so complex that, after all these years, scientists still haven't explained most of the things that amaze us about lobsters. The only thing we know is that they can be called beetles because they're more closely related to spiders and lizards than to crabs and other large seafood. There are many interesting facts about lobsters that we already know, and these are the most interesting.
They were once considered poor people's food.
Most countries now regulate the number of lobsters caught in their waters because they are no longer so abundant. However, until the 19th century, lobsters were one of the most readily available seafoods on Earth, with piles reported washing up on shore after storms. Lobsters were so plentiful that they could be caught by hand, and therefore did not command a high price. They were often fed to pigs, leaving peasants and slaves the only people who enjoyed this delicacy. Increased demand and overfishing in the 19th and 20th centuries led to lobster becoming a luxury food.
Losing limbs is not a problem
Lobsters never stop growing, and if given the chance, they can reach up to a meter in length. During this period, clawed lobsters can lose any of their claws several times in their lives. A lobster's claw can be lost during mating battles or while fleeing a predator. When a lobster molts, each lost claw regrows in the same shape and size, and the claw that was dominant before the loss is restored in the same quality. Their ability to regrow everything during a molt is truly remarkable. It's almost like a rebirth, a renewal of everything. Females also mate only after molting, because that's when their bodies are soft enough for mating.
They really don't scream when they're being cooked.
The reason many people avoid cooking lobsters at home is because they consider it too cruel, as the crustaceans seem to scream when placed in the boiling pot. While it's sad to watch the poor crustaceans being boiled alive, they lack vocal cords or even powerful gills to produce a scream. The sound is often caused by air trapped under the shell escaping as the fish heats up. Lobsters can still feel pain because they aggressively scratch their legs when placed in hot water.
They can live up to 100 years.
Unless they end up in a lobster pot, most lobsters will live to a ripe old age of 100 years or more. Lobsters don't have many natural predators, especially when they grow to this size. Because they never stop growing, the oldest lobsters ever caught can reach a meter in length and weigh up to 50 pounds. A lobster only dies when it stops molting, and there's no scientific evidence as to when this actually begins. Even the oldest lobsters remain viable and continue to reproduce, which is why some people call lobsters immortal.
They are not monogamous
«"You're my lobster" is a truly romantic quote, as many people believe that lobsters mate with only one partner for life. This idea was largely popularized by movies and shows like "Friends," which claim that lobsters mate for life. In reality, the female seeks out the dominant male in her territory when he's ready to molt, then seduces him by defecating near his hen. When the male accepts her advances, the female molts and then mates for about two weeks before moving on to find a suitable place to lay her eggs. She can choose any male to mate with during the molt and is therefore not faithful to any specific partner.
The female can carry sperm for up to two years after mating.
Only two out of 50,000 lobster babies survive to adulthood, so the mother must choose the male with whom she mates and, most importantly, when and where she releases her hatched eggs. A single lobster has over 10,000 eggs to hatch, and sometimes a single male may not provide all the sperm needed to fertilize her, so the female stores her sperm until she finds another suitable male. After mating, the female can carry her sperm for up to two years, waiting for the right temperature and water conditions for her young.
Their "teeth" are located on their stomach.
Lobsters have a unique feeding process, which involves grasping food with their dominant claw and then crushing it with their crusher. They then use their cutting claw to chop the food into smaller pieces, which the lobster then places in its mouth. The food isn't chewed until it reaches the stomach, where an organ resembling three sets of molars chews and crushes the food.
They are not red until they are cooked.
Like shrimp and crabs, lobsters have a special pigment called astaxanthin, which absorbs the blue color of their own pigments. This is why you can find yellow, brownish, or blue lobsters in the wild. There are even white lobsters, which are actually albinos. When cooked, heat releases the astaxanthin from beneath the shell, giving the cooked lobster its red color.
They may be cannibals
Adult lobsters have few natural predators, with the exception of humans, of course, but that doesn't mean they're particularly friendly to their own kind. When food is scarce, lobsters can become feral and begin to eat their own kind. Larger lobsters often feed on smaller ones because they're easy to catch. Baby lobsters, which roam around feeding on phytoplankton, may also eat their siblings.
Their blood is not red
Some people think the creamy-green substance inside a lobster is its coagulated blood, but this isn't true. This substance is essentially the lobster's entire viscera, including the liver, pancreas, and intestines, all fused together. However, lobster blood isn't red. It's typically a clear liquid that turns into a white-gray paste when the lobster is cooked.