"N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4" is Nitrogen gas, Oxygen, Argon gas, Carbon Dioxide, Neon, Helium, and Methane which is a list of some of the more prominent gases in earth's atmosphere or "the air." Thus, the title is a pun on "Love Is in the Air," a pop song from 1978 sung by John Paul Young that peaked at number 7 on the US pop charts.
The Springfield Heights Institute of Technology forms the acronym S.H.I.T. which somehow got past the censors. The S.H.I.T. acronym was originally used for the South Harmon Institute of Technology in the comedy movie Accepted (2006).
The laboratory where Professor Frink works is at the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology.
Dedicated in memory of Julie Kavner's father David Kavner, who had passed away on February 1st, aged 98.