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Information
The
Lobster is a large marine CRUSTACEAN with five pairs
of jointed legs, the first pair bearing large pincerlike
claws of equal size adapted for crushing the shells
of its prey. The dark-green common American lobster
(Homarus americanus) is found from Labrador to North
Carolina, but especially along the New England coast.
When the lobster is cooked, the shell turns bright red;
the meat is considered a delicacy. Long ago, lobsters
were so plentiful that Native Americans used them to
fertilize their fields and to bait their hooks for fishing.
In colonial times, lobsters were considered "poverty
food." They were harvested from tidal pools and served
to children, to prisoners, and to indentured servants,
who exchanged their passage to America for seven years
of service to their sponsors. In Massachusetts, some
of the servants finally rebelled. They had it put into
their contracts that they would not be forced to eat
lobster more than three times a week.
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