In reference to legacies, Joel says his people have always been big on planting trees. When Israel was established in 1948 it was almost entirely desert. Through the 1950s, '60s, and '70s about 200 million trees were planted. They were mostly paid for by donations. In New York's Jewish communities, paying for trees to be planted in Israel became an important act of faith.
The TV show that Maurice and Chris are watching in one of their "father/son" scenes is "A Year in the Life", a show made in 1987 by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, who made Northern Exposure. Adam Arkin also acts in both series .
The "ear pull up in Barrow". This is an Inuit contest of strength and pain endurance. Two men sit facing each other. A thin, strong cord is knotted into a circle and is looped over one ear of each contestant. They then lean back and try to pull each other's ear so hard that someone gives up. It is common for folks to need stitches but rare for ears to actually come off.
Maurice said his father and brother were not impressed with astronauts. "As far as they were concerned, I was Spam in the can." Military pilots and test pilots had sole and constant control of their aircrafts; their skill levels were vital to their survival. The Apollo astronauts were seen as mere passengers who had almost no control of their craft, and did nothing but passively risk a mangled death in a steel can.
The episode name is wordplay on the slogan "a Kodak moment" because Ed photographs of a kodiak bear.