Lobster Prison Riot Story Collapses

The popular story that New England prisoners rioted over being served too much lobster, forcing contracts to limit indentured servants to three lobster meals per week, is a myth. MIT Sea Grant researchers found no colonial law, petition, bill, personal account, or contract containing such a restriction. Boston Gaol, opened in 1635, usually held fewer than 50 prisoners awaiting trial, while those unable to buy food received only bread and water, making an organized lobster revolt unlikely. The jail's first recorded riot occurred in 1736 over poor living conditions, not lobster, and historians have found no archival evidence supporting any version of the famous tale.

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