The Man-Killing Giant Clam of Sea Shell City
The 1950s flooded us with films about giant, mutant beasts: grasshoppers, wasps, spiders, two-legged lagoon creatures, crabs, lizards, flies, octopi, squids, reptiles & birds, shrews, and many more. So, when we were kids and we saw the following sign alongside the road, our jaws dropped and we ran our mouths incessantly until our parents pulled over.
"GIANT MAN-EATING CLAM!!!" Read the sign.
Wow! I gotta see this! Maybe there’s still a human leg sticking out of the clam’s jaw! And no, it was not a restaurant where you could actually watch “a man eating a clam dinner”.
Now the road signs read “Giant Man-KILLING Clam", because although a giant clam could kill a man by clamping down on his foot and holding him there until he drowned, the clam didn’t EAT him.
That “Giant Clam” sign smacks us in the face a few times as we head toward the Mackinac Bridge...and it's enough to make us turn off Exit 326 to witness for ourselves the murderous man-killing clam. The place to see it? Sea Shell City. It’s an extreme tourist souvenir shop, loaded to the gills with all sorts of aquatic swag and knick-knacks: sea shells, gators, clams, oysters (some with real pearl), blowfish, turtles, frogs, sea horses, octopus, snakes, stuffed bears, a wolverine and the usual gang of northern souvenirs.....yeah, including the infamous Moo-Cow Creamers.
And, of course, it wouldn't be complete without searching out - and staring at - the giant man-killing clam. Now, to re-iterate giant clams don't intentionally look for divers to munch down on...the most common way these clams kill people is if a diver investigates too close to its open shell and somehow puts his hand inside to look around (for pearls, etc). Once the clam realizes there's something in its shell (maybe food), it will clamp down and won't let go. The diver eventually runs out of air and drowns.
It's still fun to freak out your kids with your own made-up tales of man-eating clams. Plus, there are plenty of cool little items to purchase at Sea Shell City.
Sea Shell City opened at its current location in May 1963, after closing their original shop in Gaylord, off Old 27.
Sea Shell City is full of novelties and oceanic treasures