In colonial America, lobsters were so abundant they washed up on beaches in piles two feet high. They were fed to prisoners, slaves, and servants, and Massachusetts even passed laws limiting how often masters could force their servants to eat lobster—no more than three times per week.
Lobsters were called "cockroaches of the sea" and were primarily used as fertilizer or fish bait. The stigma was so strong that in the mid-1800s, canned lobster labels didn't even picture the crustacean—they showed generic seafood imagery instead.
The transformation began during World War II when food rationing made beef and chicken scarce. Clever marketers rebranded lobster as an exotic delicacy, and restaurants began charging premium prices. The rise of air travel allowed inland diners to experience "coastal cuisine," cementing lobster's status as luxury food.
Today, a single lobster dinner can cost more than what an entire barrel of lobsters sold for in the 1800s. The "poor man's protein" became one of the most expensive items on any menu.