Community:Fallout 3 Easter Eggs

Numerous Easter eggs and references to various books, movies and other games are one of the staples of the Fallout series.

Guidelines for adding cultural references

 * 1) A character having the same name is probably not a reference in and of itself. A similar rather than identical name is even less likely.  Other contextual indications are necessary in both cases.
 * 2) If a geographical name corresponds to any real-world geography in or around the DC Metro area, it is definitely not a reference.
 * 3) Any usage of common words and phrases is not a reference without other contextual indications.
 * 4) Be conservative in what you identify as a reference. If the connection is vague and questionable, consider opening a discussion about it on the talk page instead of adding it to the article.
 * 5) There is no need to write extensive essays about well-known topics in this page; prefer to link to Wikipedia or similar sources.  Information about what makes it likely to be a reference is the most relevant, and even that can be kept to a minimum.
 * 6) You do not need to say where people or items are, or anything else about them that isn't directly related to why they are a reference, if they have wiki pages; just link to their pages.
 * 7) Avoid tacking on material to existing entries using "also".  These tend to grow into chains of "alsos" that read very poorly.  If you are adding information to an entry that isn't directly related to anything currently present in it, separate it from the existing material with two line breaks.
 * 8) If something is a reference to some classic, well-known source &mdash; for example, Greek or Norse mythology, or H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos &mdash; it is almost certainly not a reference to any other recent source; rather, both Fallout 3 and the other recent source are independently referencing the classical source.  (If someone reverts your edit and describes it as a 'parallel reference', this is why.)
 * 9) Refrain from describing references as "simple", "direct", "obvious", "clear" and so on.  Identifying it as a reference suffices, without intensifiers. Editorializing about how blatant the reference is can come across more as insulting people who may disagree with you than anything else. (If you consider the reference vague or indirect, go ahead and say so, if you believe it's worth listing at all.)
 * 10) Don't debate references in the main article.  If you think that a reference isn't one or should be modified in some way, appropriate responses include opening a dialogue on the talk page or making the changes you feel are appropriate in the main article.  It's not appropriate to add text to the main article's entry contradicting it.
 * 11) Use as few words as you can. "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." &mdash;Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
 * 12) References are organized by the non-Fallout topic referenced, in alphabetical order. Maintain this organization: keep things alphabetical, do not add sections with Fallout topics as headings, and do not add information about unrelated non-Fallout topics to topic sections. This means that if there is a Marquis de Sade section about how the Nuka-Cola Challenge quest is a reference to the 120 Days of Sodom, and you think that the quest also refers to Nabokov's Lolita, you should not edit the Marquis de Sade section to say so; rather, you should make a Lolita or Vladimir Nabokov section, and possibly crossreference between the sections if the references are related.

1984
In Tenpenny Tower, on the top floor, resides Irving Cheng. If you look on the computer in his suite, you will find a listing called "Daily Affirmation". One of the affirmations is "Comrade Cheng is Watching You", as opposed to "Big Brother is Watching You" in George Orwell's dystopian classic 1984. Comrade Cheng refers to Chairman Cheng.

Another reference is found in Vault 92, where on the overseer's terminal it notes that he used the quote: "Sanity is not statistical" to stop the crazies for a time.

In Orwell's "1984", room 101 was a torture chamber in which victims were forced to face the physical manifestations of their greatest fears. The popularity of the novel led to numerous and varied instances in pop culture where a room 101 has carried very mysterious or sinister connotations whilst not necessarily containing a direct reference to the novel itself. Examples of this include a locked room 101 in the videogame, Half-Life 2, various references in the movie, The Matrix and, of course, Fallout 3 ' s Vault 101.

The device that resembles a typewriter with an old style microphone attached (found throughout the wasteland in several office buildings) may be an interpretation of the writing device known as a speakwrite. The speakwrite was a dictation/writing tool that Winston Smith used in the Ministry of Truth.

2001: A Space Odyssey
The iconic image of HAL-9000's glowing red eye is present on the lenses of prop security cameras, such as those scattered throughout the Museum of Technology. HAL's may be borrowed directly from the Stanley Kubrick film.

A Boy And His Dog

 * The protagonist of Harlan Ellison's A Boy And His Dog refers to his dog, Blood, on at least one occasion, as "dogmeat", and the setting contains locations strongly resembling the Vaults. There are other distinctive thematic similarities between this and the Fallout series, which can be expected from post-apocalyptic fiction, but a major element in common is the blending of idealized 1950s America with futuristic horrors.


 * The hunting rifle also heavily resembles the bolt-action rifle used by the main character in the movie.


 * In the movie, there are beings similar to the Glowing Ones called Screamers.

A Christmas Story
While in the Rivet City Market, near the dining area, you can overhear the Young family having a conversation at the diner table. Mrs. Young says to her daughter "Eat your dinner, dear", to which C.J. responds by saying "But mom, do I have to". Then Mrs. Young says "Yes, because there are starving people in the Wasteland." This may be a reference to A Christmas Story, a classic vehicle of the idea that children must eat their food because there are starving people in China.

AC/DC
The Devil's Highway perk may refer to the AC/DC song Highway to Hell.

See also Led Zeppelin. (Devil's Highway and Escalator to Heaven have the same function in the opposite direction, and corresponding musical references.)

Apocalypse Now
Mr. Gutsy references the famous napalm quote from the film Apocalypse Now when he says, "There is nothing I like better than the smell of plasma in the morning."

Aqua Teen Hunger Force
In the Museum of Natural History, among the many Abraham Lincoln related items that can be obtained is an action figure of Lincoln holding a katana. This may be a reference to Aqua Teen Hunger Force ' s character Meatwad who occasionally transforms into what others call "Samurai Lincoln", although he says it's Wayne Gretzky, or, at one point, "Dick Nelson".

Armitage III
Armitage may be a reference to the main character of Armitage III, who is an android struggling with who she is.

Back to the Future
Butch DeLoria shares many personality traits with Biff Tannen. DeLoria is probably a reference to the De Lorean, the car used as a basis for the time machine.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes
In Megaton, the unexploded bomb and Children of Atom are a reference to the film Beneath the Planet of the Apes, in which a cult of survivors worship an intact nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile.

Bethesda Softworks
The Bethesda Ruins refer to the site of Bethesda Softworks's original office in Bethesda, Maryland.

The Sweetroll Question
The "sweetroll question" has been a staple of Elder Scrolls character generation quizzes since Arena. In the "tutorial" part of the game, as you turn 10, Old Lady Palmer will give you a sweetroll. After the cake is cut, Butch will accost you for your sweetroll while you are left with a few decisions on what to do. This is a continuation of Bethesda's recurring inclusion of a question involving a sweetroll in character generation quizzes. In the scenario from Morrowind, a baker gives the protagonist a sweet roll, who is then accosted by three thugs; the player's choices in this and other questions determines their character makeup. Sweetrolls are also an item in a minor quest in the Shivering Isles expansion for Oblivion. In Oblivion, one of the random things people will say to each other is "There was this one time I was eating a sweetroll, when three thugs attacked me. So I took the sweetroll..." (They never finish the sentence.)

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
Liberty Prime is a large combat robot that bears more than a passing similarity in concept to Numidium, a giant robot in The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Like Numidium, Liberty Prime plays an important role in the endgame.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
South of Megaton's external fence, there is a hollow rock that contain a note very similar to the one in Thirsk's hollow trunk in Morrowind expension pack Bloodmoon.

Doctor Lesko will occasionally greet you with "Your arrival is most unexpected, but not unwelcome", a line sometimes said by high elves in Morrowind.

There is a quest in Morrowind called Blood Ties, which is similar to the one featured in Fallout 3. It invovles a concerned family member wanting you to deliver a message to her son, who recently became a vampire.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 * The image of Grognak on the Grognak the Barbarian skill book is identical to the image used for the Barbarian class in Oblivion. As might be expected, it also bears an distinct resemblance to depictions of the famous Robert E. Howard character of film, books, comics, etc "Conan the Barbarian".




 * Outside of Big Town, along the city wall at the "back" of town, in what appears to be the exact center of the world map, is a utility pole with the unique identification tag "TES-04".


 * When Super Mutants hear something but do not detect the player, they may say "My ears are playing tricks on me", a phrase that enemies in Oblivion may say in a similar situation.


 * While in the Arlington Library, Scribe Yearling can be heard citing phrases from parts of speech used by random NPCs in Oblivion, and other games of the Elder Scrolls series.


 * Talon Company operates much in the way that Blackwood Company did in Oblivion.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

 * In Rivet City you will find the game's ultimate slacker: Ted. With his "whoa, dude" phrases he is the namesake from the classic movie, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Blade Runner

 * The Replicated Man refers, in name, content and theme, to the replicants from Blade Runner.


 * During the quest Finding the Garden of Eden, Fawkes says "Wake up, time to die" once. For the rest of the game, he and other mutants commonly say "time to die," but this is the only instance where he says "wake up."

Bob's Big Boy
The large statue in Paradise Falls is a reference to the statues at the Big Boy restaurant chain.

Bradbury, Ray: "There Will Come Soft Rains"
In Georgetown, one of the few accessible buildings, McClellan Family Townhome is a reference to the story by Ray Bradbury, There Will Come Soft Rains.

Dialogue with Carol is also a reference to the same story.

Calvin and Hobbes
Sugar Bombs are probably a reference to "Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs" in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.

Catcher in the Rye
In the initial escape from Vault 101, Vault dwellers named Tom and Mary Holden are seen quoting Catcher in the Rye before running to their death amid a shower of bullets. In Catcher in the Rye the protagonist's first name is Holden.

Clue
The butler in your home in Megaton is a Mr. Handy robot named "Wadsworth". Wadsworth the Butler is Tim Curry's character in the movie Clue. Like other Mr. Handy robots, he speaks in a tone and voice similar to that employed by Tim Curry in the movie (a stereotypical "English butler" voice).

Coca-Cola
Nuka-Cola is Fallout's version of Coca-Cola. The Nuka-Cola bottles, vending machines, and advertisements refer to those of the Coca-Cola brand in the 1950s.

Sierra Petrovita claimed to be addicted to Nuka-Cola, a reference to the fact that the original Coca-Cola recipe included cocaine.

Cool Hand Luke

 * In some circumstances, Rory McLaren will say "Nobody can eat 50 eggs!", referencing the movie Cool Hand Luke, in which Paul Newman's title character accepts a bet to eat 50 eggs in an hour.


 * In Paradise Falls there is a Pulowski Preservation shelter named "The Box". This could be a reference to when Carr says "Any man playing grabass or fightin' in the building spends a night in The Box."

Crystal Pepsi
Inside the Nuka-Cola Plant, you can find terminals mentioning the recent development of Nuka-Cola Clear as well as its recipe. This is probably a reference to the very short-lived Crystal Pepsi, which was a colorless, caffeine-free variant of the regular Pepsi Cola.

See also Tab Clear.

Dirty Harry
Callahan's Magnum can be found in a hard safe within the ruins of the Citadel if you choose to destroy it while onboard the Enclave Mobile Base Crawler during the Who Dares Wins quest. The weapon's name is a reference to Harry Callahan from the Dirty Harry movies, whose character carries a Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum as his signature weapon. If you read Callahan's computer terminal on his desk, you discover that his first name is in fact Harold.

Die Hard
Bryan Wilks can be heard saying, while in the preservation pod during the Those! quest, that he now "knows what a TV dinner feels like", which is a line from the movie Die Hard.

Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb
Many places, views and situations in Fallout 3 are similar to ones in Philip K. Dick's Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb.

Dracula

 * Lucy West, the woman who kicks off the Blood Ties quest, is probably a reference to Lucy Westenra, Mina Murray's friend in Bram Stoker's Dracula.


 * The town Arefu is the name of the town out side of the castle of Count Dracula.

Duck and Cover

 * At Springvale School, there is a poster referencing Duck and Cover, a famous United States "nuclear preparedness" propaganda piece.


 * The explosives skill book is also called Duck and Cover! However, this may not be a reference, and may actually be from before the timelines split.


 * This could also be a reference to a fan run site called Duck and Cover that covers the Fallout series.

Dune
Mentats are partially a reference to Frank Herbert's Dune, in which Mentats are humans trained to function as "living computers".

See also Mentos.

Ellis, Warren
The receptionist terminal in the Hubris Comics building contains a letter to the editor about the villain called The AntAgonizer in the Grognak the Barbarian comics (the apparent inspiration for The AntAgonizer). It complains about the current writer of the series, a Mr. Neptura, and demands the return of a former writer, Mr. Moorellis. The latter is a portmanteau of the last names of Alan Moore and Warren Ellis, critically regarded as two of the best comics writers now or ever.

See also Alan Moore, Promethea.

Escape from New York
The Fallout 3 add-on The Pitt contains several similarities with Escape from New York.

Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness
After detonating the bomb in Megaton, if you run into Moira at the ruins, one dialog option with her is the Army of Darkness quote "Honey, you got reeeal ugly!"

Fawkes, Guy
When asked about his name, Fawkes says that it was taken from researching history texts and that Fawkes was the name of a man who died for what he believed in, and as such, he felt a kinship to him.

See also V For Vendetta.

Fear Factory
In the Research Lead terminals in the Museum of Technology, the first log entry ends with: "After a complete cleanup on the mainframe's core, I am happy to announce that the infection has been removed... the soul of this machine has improved. - B. Bell, Research Lead". This is a reference to the Fear Factory song "Archetype", which contains the lyrics "The infection has been removed, the soul of this machine has improved". The mainframe is also called the "Archetype Model FF06", Archetype being the song name, FF being Fear Factory, and 06 being the album number, and vocalist Burton C. Bell's name can be abbreviated to B. Bell, the researcher's name.

Frisky Dingo
The AntAgonizer is a reference to Grace Ryan from Frisky Dingo, who falls into a vat of radiation and can then command ants to attack, using the name Antagone and soliloquizing about how humans shall fall and ants shall inherit the earth.

Flags of Our Fathers
During the Fallout 3 add-on Operation: Anchorage, a reporter is gathering a group of soldiers for a photo and says "Maybe someone will make this picture into a statue one day." This is a reference to the movie Flags of Our Fathers.

God of War: Chains of Olympus
Charon may refer to the character of the same name in God of War: Chains of Olympus. Setting aside that both refer to the Charon of Greek mythology, both characters are under a contract, kill their contract-holder in the course of the game, and say the line "I will work for ill and for good."

Gorillas in the Mist
Isabella Proud's story is a reference to Dian Fossey's, the basis of the movie Gorillas in the Mist.

Greek Mythology
Cerberus is a reference to the Cerberus of Greek mythology.

Charon is a reference to the Charon of Greek mythology.

Centaurs refer to the Centaurs of Greek mythology.

GURPS
The word "GURPS" can appear as a password when hacking computers; this is the name of the tabletop RPG that Fallout was originally planned to be based on.

Hardware
Three Dog is reminiscent of a radio DJ called Angry Bob (Played by Iggy Pop) in the 2000 AD-inspired film, Hardware or M.A.R.K. 13 (European title).

See also: Wolfman Jack

Harvey
The picture for the Animal Friend perk may be a reference to Harvey.

Hindu Culture
The Brahmin (cows) in Fallout 3 and throughout the series appear to be a reference to Hindu culture, in which "Brahmin" names what is said to be the highest position among the four varnas (related to the caste system), the class of educators, law makers, scholars and preachers. Its use in the Fallout games is likely to be a play on the reverence held for cows in Hindu culture. This is also indicated by the multiple limbs of the Brahmin, which mimic the multifarious nature of many Hindu deities. Brahmin is also similar to Brahma, which is what Hindu culture believe to make up the universe.

One could stretch this analogy even further by saying that the double heads of the brahmin refer to a brahmin title, that of dvija, meaning "twice born".

Understandably, this has been seen as disrespectful to the Hindu culture, and use of the name Brahmin was banned in India from Fallout 3.

Incredible Hulk, The
You can overhear a Mr. Gutsy say, "I'm starting to get angry. You would not like me when I'm angry." This is much like the comment Dr. Banner would give to Mr. Mcgee in the opening sequence of the TV series The Incredible Hulk. Exact quote: "Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

The image for the Nerd Rage perk is of a geeky man ripping his clothes, much like Bruce Banner transforming into the Hulk.

Internet culture
Moira Brown's terminal password is MB3K-OMFG; the last four digits, OMFG, are a common internet acronym for "Oh My Fucking God".

James Bond
Wint and Kidd are references to the James Bond movie "Diamonds are Forever" where Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd were assassins charged with killing James Bond.

Jefferson, Thomas
During one of President Eden's radio broadcasts, he utters the phrase "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance". On another occasion, he quotes "Commerce with all nations, alliance with none." Both quotes originally come from Thomas Jefferson.

John Carpenter's "The Thing"
The alien from The Thing changes into a multi-limbed, grotesque form with some human attributes when it changes its appearance or attacks, similar to the appearance of the Centaur. Also, Mayor MacReady of Little Lamplight is known to the locals as "RJ" - RJ MacReady was Kurt Russell's character in The Thing.

Judas Priest
In the Pitt, an armor named Leather Rebel is a reference to the song of the same name by the metal band Judas Priest

Lincoln, Abraham
The level 20 title "Last, Best Hope of Humanity" is similar to a evocative phrase used by President Abraham Lincoln in the closing remarks to his 1862 Annual Message to Congress. In reference to the preservation of The Union, Lincoln states, "We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth". ("Last, best hope" has since become a popular rhetorical trope.)

There is a dog in the game named "Four Score", which is a reference to the beginning of Lincolns Gettysburg adress during the American Civil War.

Night of the Living Dead
The name of the quest, You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head is a reference to a quote from Night of the Living Dead in which the character Sheriff McClellen says in the interview with Bill Cardille "If you've got a gun, shoot em in the head." A similar line was also used in Zach Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake, also spoken by a rural sheriff in a TV interview, but this one played by Tom Savini.

Also, the zombies in NOTLD are often referred to as "Ghouls" by the TV broadcasters, hence the name of the Ghoul race.

Dawn of the Dead
In the DLC The Pitt, Everett may say, "from here to Monroeville", which is a reference to Dawn of the Dead, which takes place in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Land of the Dead
Tenpenny Tower is very similar to Land of the Deads Fiddler's Green, a fortress-tower owned by a wealthy elitist. In Land of The Dead, the tower gets attacked by intelligent zombies. A similar event happens if the player chooses to aid the ghouls in the Tenpenny Tower Quest.

Led Zeppelin
The Escalator to Heaven perk is a reference to the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway to Heaven".

See also AC/DC. (Devil's Highway and Escalator to Heaven have the same function in the opposite direction, and corresponding musical references.)

Lost
The combination to Billy Creel's safe is 15, 16, 23, 42, which is the latter two-thirds of a recurring chain of numbers in the television show Lost.

Lovecraft, H.P.

 * In the extreme southwest of the world map you can find the Dunwich Building, which once housed the offices of a pretty innocuous company (Dunwich Drilling, a manufacturer of industrial mining and drilling machines). The personal logs you find here and an object you find at the very end of the maze form a reference to Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos/setting. The name of the location itself is a reference to Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror. (The company based in the building being titled Dunwich Borers.)


 * During exploration of the Dunwich Building the player comes across nine personal audio tapes that make reference to a mysterious book called The Krivbeknih (somewhat implied to be the Necronomicon) that drove the man's father insane and lead him to the whispering obelisk in the Virulent Underchambers.

Mad Max


There are many items and incidents that appear to refer to the Mad Max movies, which starred Mel Gibson as a post-apocalyptic warrior.


 * For instance, one of the Little Lamplight children uses the word humongous incorrectly, saying "humungus". Though it appears incorrect, it is actually a reference to Lord Humungus, the leader of the antagonizing gang in The Road Warrior.


 * The design of the Leather Armor in Fallout 3 is similar to Mel Gibson's armor in Mad Max.


 * Additionally, a picture of the main character walking beside Dogmeat that is featured on the back of the packaging, and in every ending is a homage to the image of Mad Max walking beside his dog from The Road Warrior, though it is from the back rather than the front.


 * Fallout 3s Dogmeat is also a Blue Heeler, the breed that was used for Mad Max's dog in the movie.


 * There is also a random encounter with a character named Mel wearing a leather jacket and sporting a Sawed-Off Shotgun. If your Perception is high enough, you'll notice that the shotgun is unloaded. In The Road Warrior Max (played by Mel Gibson) threatens the Gyrocaptain with his shotgun, even though it wasn't loaded.


 * The Raiders' style of dressing is very similar to that of the various raider and biker gangs in the Mad Max films.


 * You will also find Medical Leg Braces randomly throughout the wastes similar to those that Max wears on his left leg in the films.


 * The Raider Blastmaster Helmet bears a striking resemblance to the helmet worn by Blaster, the "muscle" of Bartertown in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. In the film, Blaster - and his brainy dwarven friend "Master" - are collectively referred to as "Masterblaster".


 * The scoped magnums bear a striking resemblance to the gun used by the Lord Humungus in "The Road Warrior".


 * The outfit worn by Mayor Macready of Little Lamplight is identical to the costume worn by the Gyro Captain's Son in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome - a pith helmet, goggles, and a too-big jacket.


 * The image for the perk Pitt Fighter depicts Vault Boy wearing armor identical to what Blaster wore in the film Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.


 * The arena in the Pitt DLC resembles the Thunderdome, both are very deep, and have people hanging on the mesh fencing.
 * The outfit worn by slaves in The Pitt resemble those worn by the slaves in Beyond Thunderdome. Also, both groups work in intense heat and around fires.

Mandroid
Dr. Zimmer is probably a reference to the movie Mandroid, in which Dr. Karl Zimmer is the creator of a humanoid robot.

Megadeth
The phrase "First Mistake... Last Mistake" is commonly heard being said by Pitt Raiders, Wildmen and several other hostiles of a similar nature. This phrase is used in the Megadeth song "Holy Wars" from the album Rust in Peace.

Mentos
Mentats are partially a reference to the candy Mentos, which at times have been marketed, tongue-in-cheek, as making one smarter.

See also Dune.

Ministry
While traveling with Fawkes, during battle he will occasionally say "I only kill to know I'm alive", which is a partial lyric to the song "So What" by Ministry, from the album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste.

Moby Dick
If the player visits Fort Independence and asks an Outcast named Defender Morgan, "What have you got against the Brotherhood?", she will refer to Elder Lyons as "Ahab Lyons", who "is off chasing his Super Mutant white whale." This is a reference to Herman Melville's Moby Dick, a book which was written in 1851 - long before the Divergence.

Monty Python's Flying Circus
In the Museum of Technology there are several terminals that have notes from the lead researcher, Professor R. J. Gumbie, a reference to the Monty Python character Professor R.J. Gumby.

Moore, Alan
The receptionist terminal in the Hubris Comics building contains a letter to the editor about the villain called The AntAgonizer in the Grognak the Barbarian comics (the apparent inspiration for The AntAgonizer). It complains about the current writer of the series, a Mr. Neptura, and demands the return of a former writer, Mr. Moorellis. The latter is a portmanteau of the last names of Alan Moore and Warren Ellis, critically regarded as two of the best comics writers now or ever.

See also Promethea, Warren Ellis.

Mortal Kombat
There is a Glowing One in Underworld in The Chop Shop named Meat. His name is most likely a reference to the character of the same name who is a rotting corpse.

Music Man, The
One of Dr. Zimmer's lines, "And he's right here in Rivet City!", may conceivably be a reference to the musical The Music Man, that takes place in River City, Iowa, and has a music montage frequently featuring the line "... right here in River City."

Mystery Science Theater 3000

 * The Hubris Comics computers list a comic called Drake Tungsten, Chrono-Cowboy. This is a reference to the episode "Hercules Against the Moon Men".

No Country For Old Men
In the Homestead Motel, Room 1G appears to have been the site of a standoff between two people armed with shotguns over a suitcase full of Pre-war Money, one of whom was carrying a sensor module. This is likely a reference to the movie, No Country for Old Men, with the one with the double-barrel shotgun being Anton Chigurh and the other with the sensor module and sawed-off shotgun being Moss.

Norse Mythology
The slaver that kills the bartender in Paradise Falls, Ymir, is a reference to the Norse frost giant whose body is the foundation of Midgard. His son is called Jotun, which is the name of the race of the Norse giants.

A raider named Thor is referenced by recordings found in the Dunwich Building.

Occam's Razor
Occam's Razor refers to the scientific principle of the same name.

Paradise Lost
John Milton's Paradise Lost appears in Fallout 3 as a skill-training book.

The name of the area Paradise Falls is a multiple entendre referencing Paradise Lost.

Peanuts
In the town "Little Lamplight" the doctor, Lucy, is a reference to the character "Lucy" from Charles Schultz's Peanuts. Inside of the clinic where she is located, a sign reading "The Doctor is in" can be found, which was often seen on Lucy's stand in the series.

Pittsburgh
In The Pitt DLC, there are two characters named to reference Pittsburgh cultural staples. Lulu, the woman who claims to feed the army in Uptown, is named after Lulu's Noodles, a popular restaurant near the University of Pittsburgh. Similarly, there is a character named Reddup, which is a Pittsburgh term meaning 'to clean.'

Pleasantville
The Tranquility Lane scenario is reminiscent of the movie Pleasantville, both involving protagonists transported into a black-and-white world modeled after an idealized version of 1950s America. Additionally, entering both Fallout 3 and Pleasantville is accompanied by the classic Indian Head TV test card.

Princess Bride, The
While patching you up during the Wasteland Survival Guide personal injury sub-quest, Moira asks you to describe the pain &mdash; "And remember, this is for posterity!" This echoes a line used by Count Rugin in The Princess Bride when asking Westley to describe the torture in the Pit of Despair.

Promethea
The receptionist terminal in the Hubris Comics building contains a letter to the editor about the villain called The AntAgonizer in the Grognak the Barbarian comics (the apparent inspiration for The AntAgonizer). It complains about the current writer of the series, a Mr. Neptura, and demands the return of a former writer, Mr. Moorellis. The former is a reference to the metafictive writer Marto Neptura from Alan Moore's Promethea. Neptura is a pseudonym shared by several writers, all considered terrible hacks, that takes on independent existence in the realm of ideas.

See also Alan Moore, Warren Ellis.

P.S. I Love You
Little bit west of Vernon Square East (NW from the big crater) there's a cinema; on the now playing list there's a title called "P.S. I Hate You", a reference to the movie "P.S. I Love You".

Relic Hunter
During the quest Stealing Independence, you come across an NPC named Sydney who greets you as a fellow "relic hunter", referencing the television series of the same name where actress Tia Carrere starred as Sydney Fox.

Road, The
The Road is a 2006 novel written by Cormac McCarthy. It's a post-apocalyptic book that didn't influence the teams that worked on the first 2 Fallouts, but partly influenced Bethesda Softworks to work on Fallout 3 and many of the things in Fallout 3. Link to the novel The Road.

Rocky Horror Picture Show, The
When choosing the speech option "He tried to take my birthday present!" on Officer Gomez after the lone wanderer's confrontation with Butch, Officer Gomez will reply: "He was trouble from the day he was born", which may be a reference to the opening line of Eddie's Song, "From the day he was born, he was trouble" featured in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Roosevelt, Franklin
President Eden's radio broadcasts are modeled on the Fireside Chats of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Rosie the Riveter
The haircut "Wendy the Welder", available to female characters, is probably best considered a reference to Rosie the Riveter, a model for working women during World War 2.

Sagan, Carl
The planetarium exhibit's prerecorded guide in the Museum of Technology has a voice and introduction that is a reference to Carl Sagan and his Cosmos educational series.

Saving Private Ryan

 * Asked what she does for the Brotherhood, Knight Captain Dusk replies that she is a sniper, and then says "Put any mutie bastard within one mile of me and my rifle and well, pack it up troops... fight's over." Jackson in Saving Private Ryan makes the same remark, with 'Hitler' replacing 'mutie' as the subject.


 * When asked what his real name is, Knight Captain Gallows responds with "What's the pool up to?", similar to Captain Miller's response in Saving Private Ryan when a query is made regarding his occupation.


 * When some of the soldiers are killed in Anchorage, they can be heard saying 'mama', an imitation of what Wade starts calling out as he dies in Saving Private Ryan.

Schindler's List
Allistair Tenpenny's desire to snipe at random "vermin" in the Wastes is reminiscent of Amon Göth's sniping at the Jewish prisoners in his camp, whom he considers subhuman.

Serenity
After the Galaxy News Radio quest, Three Dog shouts "You can't stop the signal!" This is a reference to the movie Serenity, in which the quote is mentioned by a cunning hacker and TV geek (Mr. Universe), before the main actors try broadcasting a top-secret video log over the universe-wide TV system.

Shadowrun

 * The Wired Reflexes perk refers to the reflex acceleration cyberware of the same name in Shadowrun.

Sifl and Olly Show, The
One of the 911 Dispatch terminals in the Germantown Police HQ contains rantings referencing the song "Llama School" from The Sifl and Olly Show. The password for a computer terminal in the same building is "Vicious Coy", the name of the Precious Roy knockoff on the X-and-O show.

Simpsons, The
Some of the radios and televisions in the Wasteland are called Radiation Kings (there is also a Radiation King store in downtown D.C.), which is the name of the TV Homer had as a young boy. This easter egg was originally present in the opening movie of Fallout; this is a continuation of that reference.

Snatcher
Gibson is a reference to Snatcher.

Spam
Cram is a reference to the common tinned food Spam as it has the same style packaging and color scheme.

Star Trek: The Original Series
In the beginning of the game when your character is being born, and your mother begins to die, it fades out with the phrase "James, I need a doctor, not a scientist", a reference to lines in the original Star Trek where Dr. McCoy says to Captain Kirk, "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a (profession that isn't medical)".

Similarly, Dr. Preston in Rivet City will say "I'm a doctor, not a dealer!" when asked about purchasing chems.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
The password for the shipping computer in the Nuka-Cola Plant is NC-C1864. The call letters of the USS Reliant, the ship hijacked by Khan, were NCC-1864.

The end of the final quest Take it Back! (if the player chooses to take the path of self-sacrifice) resembles Spock's self-sacrifice at the end of the movie of entering a heavily irradiated room to repair the warp core to save the lives of everyone aboard the Enterprise.

Star Trek: Voyager
The robot, Sawbones greets you with the phrase "Please state the nature of the medical emergency", the signature phrase of the Emergency Medical Hologram "The Doctor" from Star Trek: Voyager.

Strapping Young Lad
The bottom log entry on the Maintenance Department terminal in the Presidential Sub Level (accessed through a Broken Steel quest) ends with lyrics to Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad's song "Detox": "I wish that I could get to sleep and just get this over with... this is only high school bullshit. I'm lost, I'm freaking and everybody knows... everyone's watching."

Superman
The Toughness perk has a similar design as the Superman-suit and the pose of Vault-Boy resembles Superman's heroic pose.

Tab Clear
Nuka-Cola Clear may be a reference to the early 1990s Coca-Cola Company drink Tab Clear.

See also Crystal Pepsi.

Terminator series
Near the beginning of the Pitt DLC you need slave clothing to disguise yourself as a slave. If the slaves who have the slave outfits are alive and you talk to one (and you most likely killed all the nearby slavers) and talk to the slaves several speech options are similar to the Terminators' famous "Your clothes... give them to me" lines.

Terminator, The
Three Dog says the Raiders "can't be bargained or reasoned with", which is what Kyle Reese tells Sarah Connor about the Terminator.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The picture for the Cyborg perk refers to the old-model Terminator's appearance with its face damaged.

Them!
The quest Those! is a reference to the 1954 Oscar-nominated sci-fi classic Them! about giant ants, the result of nuclear testing in New Mexico. The original script for Them! had the climactic hunt for the nest take place in the New York subway system (was changed for budgetary reasons), very similar to the events of the quest.

Tommy James & The Shondells
Eulogy Jones' slave bodyguards Crimson & Clover are references to the #1 hit song "Crimson And Clover" by the 1960s American rock and roll group Tommy James and the Shondells.

Transformers
During his march to Project Purity, Liberty Prime says many phrases, one of which is "Freedom is the sovereign right of all Americans." This is similar to the motto of the Autobot leader Optimus Prime, which is "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."

United States nuclear weapons program
The Fat Man weapon refers to the atomic bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan.

V For Vendetta
In V For Vendetta, the character V was imprisoned and experimented upon in cell number 5 (marked with the Roman numeral V), the same cell number as Fawkes's. Both V and Fawkes are great fans of Guy Fawkes.

See also Fawkes, Guy.

Watson, Thomas
In Our Lady of Hope Hospital there is a terminal called "Nurse's Station Terminal 02" on the first floor. The third Injury Report (labeled 09007882) tells of a man with the last name of Watson that is splashed by caustic chemicals. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and the first call made was "Mr. Watson, come here. I need you.", a message sent to Thomas Watson after Bell had accidently spilt battery acid on himself and needed assistance.

West Side Story
If you choose to ask Paul Hannon Jr. about the Tunnel Snakes before taking your G.O.A.T. exam, he punctuates one of his statements with, "Birth to Earth, womb to tomb." This is a direct quote from the Broadway show West Side Story, in which the character is also a member of a young 50's American gang.

Wolfman Jack
The GNR DJ Threedog has a similar on-air personality to 1950's radio icon Wolfman Jack, who was also featured in the film American Graffiti.

Wolverine
The perk Adamantium Skeleton is a reference to the fictional metal alloy that makes up the skeleton of Wolverine from X-Men.

Yogi Bear
The Yao Guai are mutated black bears that wander the Wasteland, with a name that (aside from being the Chinese Pinyin symbol for "monster", its overt meaning) is linguistically similar to "Yogi" and contains those letters in sequence. Three Dog can be heard in one of his broadcasts warning Wastelanders "Don't feed the Yao Guai"; Jellystone Park's "don't feed the bears" policy and Yogi Bear's struggle against it is the main theme of the cartoon.

Upon entering the Yao Guai Tunnels, there is a picnic table directly to the right of the entrance. This refers to Yogi Bear's desire for "Pic-uh-nic Baskets".

Zen Buddhism
When you try to rob Uncle Leo, his dialogue where he tells you the clothes are a gift and he wishes he could give you the "wonderful moon" comes from the following Zen Buddhist koan:

''Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing to steal.

''Ryokan returned and caught him. “You have come a long way to visit me,” he told the prowler, “and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift.”

''The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.

''Ryoken sat naked, watching the moon. “Poor fellow,” he mused, “I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon.”

Much of the random dialogue heard from Fawkes as one wanders around can be heard as simple wasteland survival advice, but also references Zen philosophy. Examples include "Be aware of the present moment" and "There is safety in mindfulness". Taken together with Uncle Leo's reference, this suggests that Zen Buddhism may be a means to retaining a level of higher mental function after EEP transformation.