Lobster Catching Arcade Game

Gavin Anderson snapped this picture of the "Sub Marine Catcher," a traditional claw game that replaces the moldy stuffed animals with adorable clacking lobsters. Snuggle up with a crustacean tonight!

There should be a bonus token that you can capture that, upon removal from the tank, causes the entire contraption to heat to boiling and spits out bibs and cups of melted butter.

Marine Catcher or the claws of Death! [Flickr via Serious Eats via Eat Geek]

[#1 posted by technogeek , May 13, 2008 1:35 PM]

Heard about these several years ago. My personal take is that it's over the line into the "gratuitous teasing of animals" category, even if lobsters aren't particularly intelligent critters.

On the other hand, I have to admit gleefully abusing houseflies, which may not be all that much less intelligent. On the other other hand, houseflies deserve it.

Still, I am reminded of the time that a friend of mind got chased out of the kitchen because she wanted to take a bit of time to get to know the lobster as a critter before turning it into a meal. Some folks really couldn't deal with the concept of playing with your food before cooking it.

[#2 posted by Harrkev , May 13, 2008 2:05 PM]

I saw one of these almost ten years ago in Key West, FL. If you win the lobster, the restaraunt would cook it up for you for free. Considering how hard it is to have a claw grab a light-weight, non-moving stuffed animal, I am sure they were still making money.

[#3 posted by Enochrewt , May 13, 2008 2:26 PM]

I know this is the equivelant to teasing large ocean-going cockroaches (not racist!!!!), but it's sort of animal cruelty right?

[#4 posted by lectroid , May 13, 2008 5:08 PM]

Teasing?

The way these claw machines are rigged, I don't imagine this is any more 'teasing' the lobster than tapping it with small stick. Teasing implies the idea that the lobster has some idea that the claw = death. (Ooooooooooo! You have been chosen!) I just can't see my way to giving them that much credit. Lord knows, if I'm perfectly happy to drop them, still wiggling, into a pod of boiling water, I'm certainly not worried that a couple of taps on the carapace from a cheap aluminum gadget are going to unduly traumatize them.

[#5 posted by RyanH , May 13, 2008 7:21 PM]

More cruel than dropping it in boiling water? If I was a lobster, I'd rather end up in one of these than the pot.

[#6 posted by hkaplan , May 13, 2008 8:37 PM]

I played one of these when I was a kid. It was a dollar to play, and the restaurant did indeed cook it up for free. The best part of all? It was really, really easy.

For $5, I won a lobster for everyone in my family. And when you're 10 years old, winning a LOBSTER DINNER for EVERYONE IN YOUR FAMILY is a pretty awesome sensation.

[#7 posted by historyman68 , May 14, 2008 2:19 AM]

@6
Aw, that sounds like an awesome sensation. I'm jealous. I never won a LOBSTER DINNER for EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY.

[#8 posted by ROSSINDETROIT , May 14, 2008 5:31 AM]

I worked in a seafood restaurant years ago. In the lobby was a tank full of lobsters. Infrequently, a guest would ask to use the long tongs to haul their own lobster out of the tank. If we liked the person we'd warn them to lift it out tail first. If we didn't warn them they'd invariably lift it out head first and get liberally doused as the flailing critter flapped its tail to get back in the water.

[#9 posted by Anonymous , May 14, 2008 7:51 AM]

My friend has some video footage of these tanks in Japan. I remember the music being played from the claw contraption, it was very creepy.