The word "albatross" is spoken thirteen times in this episode.
In the "Psychiatry" sketch, the name of Mr. Notlob is a reference to the famous "Dead Parrot" sketch (from the episode Full Frontal Nudity (1969)), where it is pointed out that "Bolton" backwards is "Notlob". Also, the music that the surgeon plays on the gramophone is the theme from Dr. Kildare (1961).
John Cleese once declared the filmed scene with himself as a policeman and Michael Palin as a man who had his wallet stolen to be his single favorite joke in the entire series.
The R101 disaster referred to around minute 12 was the crash of a British hydrogen-filled airship on 5 October 1930 that killed 48 passengers.
This episode is titled "It's the Arts" in the DVD edition of the complete series.