The Maine Lobster Game

Just thought I'd share this experience with our faithful Cakeplow readers...

A few weekends ago I visited a friend of mine in Charlotte County for his birthday. Although you'd be hard-pressed to find anything that resembles a good time in fair Port Charlotte. Maybe Orlando has spoiled me but PC is in dire need of a fun-enema.

We met up at Boomers, a mild-mannered restaurant by day, half karaoke/half hip hop club by night. That should've been our first clue. Regardless, we entered this fine establishment, thinking our best bet would be to enter the hip hop side first. Oh, how wrong we were. Everyone was sitting at small tables dispersed around the room, watching MTV reruns projected on a wall while a DJ *attempted* to mix. Occasionaly a small group of people would get up and shake what their momma gave them while Steve-O made a jackass out of himself in the background. Now that, my friends, is what we call 'irony.'

We found ourselves a table to sit and watch TV (when in Rome) and bopped our heads along to the trainwreck that everyone else in the club mistook for music.

After a while we got up and ventured over to the karaoke side of the restaurant/club. How could we have known that this was when it was going to get interesting? Both of us stopped in our tracks as something simultaneously caught our eye. Tucked away in a corner was the "Maine Lobster Game." Picture the mechanical crane games that are usually found at your local Denny's, filled with stuffed animals and plastic watches, except this one was filled with water and about half a dozen Maine lobsters. No. Seriously. Picture it. In your head. Because once you have formed the visual and have realized how absurd it is, you probably won't believe me. But I have proof. Fortunately I had just gotten my new cell phone with a camera, and this was the perfect opportunity to break it in. Of course it isn't the best image because the lighting was low, but here's the shot I took...

Can you imagine the experience a person has operating this thing? You insert a quarter, pick a suitable lobster out of the bunch, then operate a joystick as you attempt to catch him in the mechanical claw. If you're lucky - success! The claw latches on to the unsuspecting lobster, pulls him from his watery, plexiglass-enclosed prison, and drops him down a chute where he lands with a satisfying "thud." Then you get the joy of retrieving your reward - usually a teddy bear, but in this case a live crustacean. You open the small metal door and pull out your soon-to-be dinner, then hand him to your waiter. Finally, he gets delivered to the chef for a date with a boiling pot of H2O and a side of melted butter. Sheer genius.

Has anyone seen any similar machines in their travels? What other animals could we throw in a box and catch with a mechanical crane... then eat for dinner? I see a large, untapped market here...