In one scene there is a newspaper on the ground, called "Fledermaus Chronicles". Fledermaus is the German word for bat.
The area code that came up on the caller ID was 405, from Oklahoma City.
The episode title "The Anvil or the Hammer" might refer to the book Venus in Pelt by Leopold Sacher-Masoch (namesake of masochism), in which it is said that in a sexual relationship "...one can only be the anvil OR the hammer, but never both..."