Despite the assertion by Rory that Pat Sumerall was dead, and Lorelai's assertion Lady Bird Johnson was dead, both were alive when this episode aired.
Since Lorelei went from her parents' house to living with Rory, this is technically the first time she is living alone.
Lorelai tells Luke that the old mattress from Yale has "microbes that date back to Henry Box Brown".
Henry Brown was a slave in Virginia who managed to escape from slavery in 1849 by secretly mailing himself in a wooden box to the free state of Pennsylvania.
He remained free and went on to become an abolitionist speaker.
When Rory is on her tour of Yale her tour guide mentions the post 9/11 environment. This is the first and only time Gilmore girls mentions 9/11 attacks.
Rory's new roommate at Yale says that her mom is napping and her father is "getting the schvitz".
"Schvitz" is a Yiddish word for a steam bath.