Most people will tell you that the "r-month rule" doesn't matter anymore. They'll say that it's cool to eat raw oysters in a month doesn't have an "r" in it — like August — because it's safe. And sure, it is safe. But you know what? It's gross. Raw oysters aren't meant to be eaten then, so stop it.

“I basically inadvertently follow the r-month rule because they never taste good in the summer,” says Rowan Jacobsen, author of The Geography of Oysters and the best oyster website on the Internet, oysterguide.com. “It’s perfectly fine to eat oysters any time of year, unless you’re on the Gulf Coast, temps are too high in the summer there."

There was another reason for the r-month rule: It allowed them time to reproduce since oysters spawn in the summertime. On the Gulf Coast, where they still harvest wild oysters, they still have a set season for oystering. But everywhere else, baby oysters are “made” in hatcheries, so natural reproduction is not a real issue.

But still, oysters grown in cold water are better so just follow the rule.

(Note: The r-month rule is only important with raw oysters. Grilled or fried, oysters are about the same year-round.)