Giant Lobster Debuts At New York Aquarium

An 18 pound, 75-year-old lobster went on display at Coney Island’s New York Aquarium this week, after being rescued from lusty seafood lovers’ dinner plates.

Though probably better fitting down the block at the freak show, the “colossal crustacean” – as the Daily News dubbed it – landed in the aquarium tanks after being caught off the coast of Canada. It was shipped all the way out to San Francisco, where a wholesaler’s bookkeeper urged her bosses to protect the lobster.

Of course, spacial dynamics also went a long way in saving the sea monster: the lobster was too big for most pots. So the bookkeeper got her wish, advertising the jumbo shellfish on an online posting that caught the eye of aquarium administrators.

“He radiates a certain charisma,” said Aquarium Director Jon Dohlin. “A crustacean charisma.”