Homer mistakes famous painter Picasso for a writer.
Marge denotes the similarity of the picture behind the couch to the classic novel Moby-Dick. The picture is, in fact, called Scene from Moby Dick. Moreover, her book is about whaling and its ending has Temperance's husband dying similarly to that of Captain Ahab, the main character from the same novel.
Marge's book is also set in Nantucket, a famous island in Massachusetts, which is the site where Ishmael starts his voyage in Moby-Dick.
Krusty Home Depot is a parody of American retailer Home Depot.
The ambulance Homer buys is based on a 1959 Eureka Cadillac ambulance formerly operated by the Bogota, New Jersey Volunteer First Aid Squad, which has since been restored and is now in the Netherlands.
When cleaning the ambulance, Homer sings a song to the tune of "Cars", a famous single by Gary Numan.
Clancy is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. He is portrayed in the episode wearing a USS Iowa (BB-61) cap and sitting at a desk with a model of a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and a picture of a US submarine.
Homer owns a book on tape version of The Harpooned Heart as read by American fashion designers and former actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
Marge and Homer work on a project to find out who killed John F. Kennedy. Homer mentions that Lee Harvey Oswald, the murderer of JFK, "tried to steal the Jack Ruby". Homer is mistaking American nightclub owner Jack Ruby to the expensive gemstone.
Whenever season 15 is re-aired on Channel 4 in the UK, this episode is left out, most likely due to the scene where Captain Mordecai stabs Cyrus Manly with a harpoon.
When Homer is reading the book, he says, "Temprance Barrow was heavy with feeling. She "snore"..." but when he is listening to it, it says Temprance Barrow was heavy with feeling. Her" The goof is that Homer says She, but the Olsen's say Her at the beginning.
As Homer read a first-draft, some lines may have been edited slightly in the final book.
When the Springfieldians are gossiping, several people who share bedrooms such as Patty and Selma and the Lovejoys have different backdrops in their respective squares.
