From 2003:

THE BEST OUTDOOR STORY OF THE YEAR- This item might even be the outdoor story of the decade.

According to the venerable Associated Press wire service and reported in the Portland (Maine) Press-Herald on December 22, the lobstermen working off Maine’s Mount Desert Island were bored so they recently did something that only guys would do- dress a lobster in doll clothes.

As a joke, Jim Bright and his assistant Christ Costello outfitted a small female lobster in a blue blouse, red and white checkered skirt and pink high heels that were made for a Barbie doll. After dressing the lobster, they placed it in a friends trap. He found it shortly thereafter and set “Barbie” free after a few laughs

The lobster has now cheated the boiling pot at least 10 times in the last four months. Each time a lucky fisherman finds Barbie Lobster, she is set free and the boat crew reports the catch on marine radio to other boats working the area.

According to the story, Bright and Costello had wanted to dress a jumbo lobster but it was too fat to fit into the clothes so they chose a slim 1 ½-pound crustacean instead.

“They slipped right on, just like Cinderella,” Bright said of the tiny pink shoes he and Costello put on Barbie.

According to the story, “Costello disagreed, saying it was a challenge to put the high heels on the little lobster legs. There are four legs on each side so the men attached them to the center two.”

The next quote should be enshrined in the journalism hall of fame: “You try squeezing Barbie shoes on a lobster. That was the most time-consuming thing.”

The story may be finished however because Barbie hasn’t been seen since early December. At that time, the outfit was in tatters with “just her pretty pink high heels still hanging on.”

If she does survive the winter, Costello has plans for the upcoming fishing season. “We have our spring fashions all ready to go,” he said.

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