Lobsters were once considered the ultimate garbage food of the American economy, deemed so worthless that they were frequently fed to prisoners, apprentices, and even used as crop fertilizer.

A closer look

Lobsters were once considered the ultimate garbage food of the American economy, deemed so worthless that they were frequently fed to prisoners, apprentices, and even used as crop fertilizer. In the nineteenth century, these crustaceans washed up on New England beaches in massive piles and were widely known as the cockroaches of the sea, strictly eaten by those who could not afford anything else. Massachusetts even passed a law banning prisons from feeding lobster to inmates more than twice a week because it was considered cruel and unusual punishment. Thanks to the expansion of railways and brilliant rebranding by high-end chefs who marketed them to clueless wealthy tourists, the garbage bug suddenly became a premium luxury dish. The economy is essentially just a giant marketing scam where a creature that used to be literal prison slop now costs you seventy dollars at a fancy steakhouse just because it comes with a tiny cup of melted butter!