Myth: A lobster can break or even sever a finger if it pinches it.
Getting 'bit' by a lobster hurts. That's no myth. But to do the kind of damage described in this myth the critter would have to be huge...a lot bigger than anything we can sell you.
Most people fear the crusher claw. In fact you'll get a nastier wound from the pincer claw if it latches onto soft tissue.
Myth: Lobsters may scream when you cook them.
This is just so wrong.
It's anatomically impossible. Lobsters are gill-breathers. No lungs, no vocal chords. They are completely incapable of making any vocalizations.
The perpetrators of this myth need to read a basic biology book.
Email: 'I went for a swim this morning and found a lobster in my in-ground pool!' [pic was included]- Florida
Dude. Its a crawfish...crayfish(?)...whatever. It ain't a lobster.
Email: 'Me and my roommates went out and splurged on a dozen live lobsters. When we got them home, we put them in the bathtub for the night but they were all dead the next day. Why?' - Germany
Q: Was there water in the tub?
A: Yes. We filled it half full.
Solution: First off, lobsters die in fresh water.
Secondly, even if you had put them in a tub of seawater, they would have soon depleted the dissolved oxygen in the seawater and died. You should have just covered them with a damp towel and refrigerated them. They can breath better in air than they can in deoxygenated seawater.
Email: 'I run a restaurant in New York. Today I took delivery of a crate of lobsters from a local dealer and found one with eggs under its tail. I know they're eggs because I found this page on Google. What should I do?' - NYC
Call the purveyor and tell them what you have. If they don't seem to be taking it seriously, report them and find a more reputable supplier.
Berried females are considered breeding stock and are protected by most (if not all) states along the Eastern seaboard as a fishery conservation measure.
While it's possible she may have 'egged out' while in the pound's holding tank, someone should have been checking when she got moved from the tank to the crate.
At Chrissy D. Lobster Company we take conservation very seriously. Our livelihood depends on the health of our lobster fishery. Our lobsters are carefully inspected when they come out of the traps, and again before they go into our holding tanks, and yet again before they go into a shipping box.
I don't know about New York, but if you were in Maine, law enforcement would be wanting to have a chat with your purveyor. Selling berried females is illegal and can carry stiff penalties.