It turns out that there is a serious debate being waged as to whether lobsters can really be hypnotized. One scientist I spoke to said that a lobster can be "tonically immobilized," but not hypnotized. As far as I can tell, tonic immobilization just means that after being rubbed on the top of its shell, just behind its eyes, the lobster seems to lose any will to move and can be stood on its beak and claws in a kind of tripod arrangement. And the lobster seems content to just stay like this, balanced on its beak and claws. But I don't speak lobster, so it's really hard to say what is on the mind of a tonically immobilized lobster that has been forced to do a headstand.

Some people swear this ritual makes the meat taste better if the lobster is thrown into the boiling water while still under "hypnosis." We carried out a double-blind taste test on our back porch one evening, and I thought all the boiled lobster tasted great.