When Bender lands on his head after being thrown by the whale he makes the same whistling sound that R2D2 does.
This is the second story with a member of the Waterfall family, Free Waterfall Sr. He is the leader of a group of protesters, trying to protect the penguin reserve on Pluto. As with his son, as well as the rest of his family, he is killed by a horde of rampaging penguins, demanding they use every part of his body before dying.
This episode bears a striking resemblance to the Exxon Valdez disaster, including the thought the tanker couldn't be ripped open, the disastrous "oil" slick, the alcohol content of the captain, and the desire to get the wildlife cleaned up.
This is one of many instances when a dangerously sober Bender appears with an unkempt red "beard", which is caused by rust.
This episode marks the second appearance of the Fing-Longer, used by Prof. Farnsworth during the tanker mission briefing. It's the first of very few instances the invention is seen outside of the "Anthology of Interest" episodes.