Wow didn’t expect them to actually make a queue
They’re all trying to move up one shell size, so they position themselves as close to the shell they want as possible. If they weren’t in order, the chance they’d end up shell-less increases dramatically
Felt sad for that last crab who ended with a shell worse than the original :(
The Soviets had an “apartment swap” system for people who wanted to move around filled-to-capacity neighborhoods. You would get on the list with where you currently lived and put in where you wanted to move and would get informed when there was a match. Sometimes matches would be arranged in triangles or other more complex shapes, but since everybody involved needed to get on the same page this was rare. The wait to move depended on how lucky you were - sometimes you’d get a match right away, sometimes you’d forget about it until ten years later when you would get a letter asking if you were still interested.
This was all in the 60s and 70s when things were generally more chill.
Sometimes matches would be arranged in triangles or other more complex shapes, but since everybody involved needed to get on the same page this was rare.
A web service could handle this neatly. You could commit to being ready for a match within the next 2 weeks. If the server can find a way to move any number of people between equivalent apartments, everyone gets notified and confirms receipt.
They also duke it out if two crabs want the same shell. I recall one video where two crabs were goin round the outside when a third one just moves into the shell. Hilarious at scale, but I bet the first two were pissed. Good thing they weren’t pistol shrimp.
Seems more analogous to clothes than housing — clothes can be “too big” in the sense that the extra size is detrimental to the function, which is somewhat different from houses.
And it’s pretty common to have buy-nothing groups in cities or even at large companies. Got a loooot of hand-me-down clothes for my toddler from friends, family, and randos in the neighborhood.
Yes and no. I’m sure there is an argument to be made that a house can be too big. Bigger houses require more maintenance, cleaning, higher taxes. Downsizing a house is also a retirement strategy.
Also, sometimes you just want a tight fit house to show what you got.
Humans could have this too if enough of us just started doing it
You know I’ve never quite bought the hermit crab shells = houses analogy. They seem much more analogous to armor.
I’m so pissed hermit crabs have a better fashion market than we do
In Australia we lose about six months wages to ‘stamp duty’ if we move. Better to stick with the oversized shell.
Can you explain for an American?
Stamp duty makes it sound like it’s what happened to them because they didn’t kick the brits out over the stamp act.
B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-but tHiNk Of AlL tHe LoSt ShArEhOlDeR vAlUe ThO!?
Seriously though, if crabs used currency this would never happen. There would be one crab with all the shells and the other crabs would have to bring food offerings or whatever their currency would be in order to get one.
Mr. Krabs
I wonder how they communicate. There must be a signal that says, “I’m moving out. Line up!”
IIRC it’s by doin’ a little crabby dance whenever they see other hermit crabs scuttling by until one that’s also looking for a new shell spots them and the hermit crab swap meet begins forming.