--- description: Over the weekend, subway riders were shocked to find about 50 live crabs discarded in a subway car. title: This Subway Car Was Mysteriously Infested with Crabs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Bunch of Live Crabs Were Mysteriously Dumped in This Subway Car  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 6, 2016 9:01 PM CUT  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 6, 2016 9:01 PM CUT Public transportation in New York City is [hit or miss](http://time.com/3697797/new-york-city-subway-germs-bacteria-dna/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined"). On one hand: it’s one of the most efficient transit systems in the world, getting [5.7 million](http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffsubway.htm "undefined") passengers daily from point A to point B. On the other hand: you might find [a rat eating pizza](http://time.com/4043383/rat-pizza-slice-subway/?iid=sr-link9 "undefined")… or a ton of crabs scuttling around. Over the weekend, subway riders encountered an empty car on the city’s N train in Queens. Regular riders know to avoid empties as they are often filled with unappealing smells. But this one was vacated for an even less appealing reason, as about 50 crabs were on the floor of the train. “We all figured it was a horrid smell, but when we started walking past the car to get to the next one. We looked in and spotted an extremely odd sight… about 50 dead crabs. How? Why?” straphanger Shawn Petcaugh asked [_Gothamist_](http://gothamist.com/2016/07/03/photos%5Fdid%5Fanyone%5Fforget%5Ftheir%5Fdead.php "undefined"). Further reporting uncovered that the crabs had previously been alive — and that someone had even attempted to save them by throwing water at them. “The guy throwing the water told me it must have been a prank against him since he was a Cancer and that it must have been done by a Scorpio,” subway rider Brian Slepian [also told _Gothamist_](http://gothamist.com/2016/07/06/subway%5Fcrab%5Fmystery%5Fshow.php?utm%5Fsource=feedly&utm%5Fmedium=webfeeds "undefined"). “He came on the train after I did and, in a psychotic attempt to help the crabs, threw a liter of water onto the floor.” Stay weird, New York. > [](https://twitter.com/Gothamist/status/750703065381085184) Crabs in Subway Car: Watch VIDEO ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4395615/a-bunch-of-live-crabs-were-mysteriously-dumped-in-this-subway-car/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4395615/a-bunch-of-live-crabs-were-mysteriously-dumped-in-this-subway-car/"},"headline":"A Bunch of Live Crabs Were Mysteriously Dumped in This Subway Car","datePublished":"2016-07-06T21:01:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:34:08.594Z","description":"It's never a dull day in the New York City subway.","url":"https://time.com/4395615/a-bunch-of-live-crabs-were-mysteriously-dumped-in-this-subway-car/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4395615/a-bunch-of-live-crabs-were-mysteriously-dumped-in-this-subway-car/","name":"A Bunch of Live Crabs Were Mysteriously Dumped in This Subway Car"}}]}] ```