Yours truly, Trevor Corson, looking for lobster stuff. Got any? E-mail me
This was where I posted my irregular ramblings, reports, and pictures as the author of THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS from 2004 through 2006. This page is no longer active, and serves simply as an archive. To read new entries starting in 2007, please visit my new Lobster Blog.
To see scenes from Little Cranberry Island, where THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS takes place, and to read an interview with me, click here. To see photos of some of the people featured in the book, click here, and view the blog entries below. To see more pictures of weird lobster stuff, click here.
This is a long overdue update to my post on the Japanese lobster vending machine, known as Marine Catcher.
Similar machines are now being built and marketed in the U.S., under the name "The Love Maine Lobster Claw." The game is exactly like one of those arcade machines where you steer a three-pronged claw with a joystick in an attempt to snag a stuffed animal. Except this one involves a tank full of water and live lobsters.
Of course, animal-rights activists are incensed. An AP report brought the appearance of the American machines to my attention in February.
Put me down!
There are several versions of the machine vying for the apparently lucrative live-lobster arcade trade. Visit the website of Marine Ecological Habitats to watch a news clip about the game. You will see Mainers at a convenience store frantically twisting the joystick in their passionate attempts to catch a lobster. Ever considered the supermarket? [Oh, wait, that's not an option anymore -- lobsters have been banned from supermarkets.]
Two bucks buys you 30 seconds. They say it's addictive. And very difficult.
The machine costs around 15 grand, but Marine Ecological Habitats estimates that proud owners the new game can expect to clear an annual profit in the neighborhood of $18,780.
