One diner almost had a very rare meal indeed. A rare 1-in-30 million lobster almost ended up in the pot after someone accidentally shipped the crustacean to Red Lobster. The lobster is orange-colored thanks to a very rare genetic mutation. However, that almost didn't save it from ending up on one hungry diner's plate at Red Lobster.
However, I have to question in the grand scheme of things why this lobster was saved from the boiler. Sure, it's an incredibly rare specimen thanks to its color, but outside of that, it's still a lobster. Does that mean other crustaceans are more deserving of death just because their color is common? Maybe, I'm musing a bit too much about something that will ultimately end up on a roll.
Someone sent the crustacean to a Colorado Red Lobster, according to a local aquarium. The Downtown Aquarium in Denver said the unique specimen was shipped to local restaurant, according to KDVR. However, diners quickly noticed that it was a different color than the rest. They saw the creature in the lobby's tank.
Rare Lobster Accidentally Sent To Restaurant
"[Regular lobsters] are very dark brown with maybe a few small spots or discoloration points, so having one that was bright orange that none of us had ever seen was definitely a bit of a shock," Kendra Kastendieck, the general manager of the Pueblo Red Lobster, told the outlet.
Some diners quested why the restaurant put a pre-cooked lobster in the tan with live ones. Reportedly, fishermen caught the creature in Canada. There's about a one in every 30 million that a mutation like this occurs.
"The lobster's coloration is from a genetic mutation which affects and prevents encoded proteins. The lack of one or several proteins can manifest as different colors, including blue, yellow, and orange," the aquarium said. After the discovery, the crustacean was spared a fate on a dinner plate. Instead, it was donated to the aquarium. Since then, people have nicknamed it "crush after the Denver Broncos famed "Orange Crush" defense. He played in the 1970s and 1980s.
Previously, another orange crustacean landed in a Massachusetts supermarket in 2018. It also ended up in an aquarium.
