When Jeff (Joel McHale) and Señor Chang walk out of the class room, they run into Britta (Gillian Jacobs) in the hallway, while laughing and saying, "cherry daiquiri". Cherry Daiquiri is the name of the stripper Jacobs played in the movie Choke (2008).
The storyline involving Troy & Abed's rat includes numerous references to the 1986 animated classic "An American Tail." They named their rat after the main character in the film, a mouse named Fievel. Also, the movie centers around Fievel getting lost and his family trying to find him, just as Troy & Abed have to find their lost rat. Finally, the song they sing to him is "Somewhere Out There," which is sung in the film and received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
The video Dean watches of a human in dalmatian makeup is of Alex Kovas, the performance artist behind the YouTube channel "Humanimals".
When Pierce (Chevy Chase) is teaching Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) about public speaking, Shirley asks if she can "use cards." Pierce responds "No. Do you know anybody who reads from cards?" Chevy Chase was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, a live sketch comedy show where the cast members read off cue cards.