Dominique Bisson (who plays the character of Gloria Ambercrombie) is the daughter of series lead, Yannick Bisson.
The Wood from MIT mentioned by Detective Murdoch is most likely Robert Wood who is considered a pivotal contributor in the field of optics and a pioneer of infrared and ultraviolet photography. Wood studied and earned numerous degrees from Harvard, MIT and the University of Chicago.
Snakes and Ladders is an Anglicized version of an Indian board game called Moksha Patan, which dates back to at least the 16th Century and emphasizes the Hindu concepts of karma and fate and teaches moral lessons. It was first introduced into England in 1891 and later into Canada, where it sometimes substituted toboggans for snakes. The American version by Milton Bradley is called Chutes and Ladders.
The Canadian mentioned as a Canadian Jack the Ripper subject was Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, a poisoner and mass murderer who dispatched victims in at least four countries: his birthplace Scotland, Canada, the U.S. and England. Cream was served from 1881 to 1891 in Joliet Prison for a Chicago murder but was inexplicably paroled in 1891 for good behavior. He returned to Britain and was convicted of yet another murder and executed in 1892. Why was he a Ripper suspect even though he was imprisoned in another country while the murders were taking place? Cream's last words as the trap door was sprung were "I am Jack the..." It has also been theorized that the frightened Cream lost control of his bowels at the end and actually stammered, "I am ejaculating!" In any case, the Anglo-Canadian writer Chris Scott won an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 1989 for "Jack," a novel based on the premise that Cream actually was Jack the Ripper and explains how Cream managed it.
This episode takes place in 1896.