In the French version, the name Homer gives to his pet lobster is 'Homard', the French word for 'lobster' (the 'D' is silent). It creates an interesting pun as Homer introduces the lobster as a new member of the family 'Homard Simpson', which sounds almost like 'Homer Simpson'.
The scene where Lisa imagines being sent to Brown University after failing the test was conceived by Ian Maxtone-Graham, whose alma mater was Brown University. He stated that all his friends from Brown and Harvard "loved" the joke.
The writers found it difficult to "get the subplot go[ing]," and it took a long time to come up with the third act, according to Ian Maxtone-Graham.
The Dash Dingo video game was difficult to animate, according to Hauge, as the animators had to "make it look less than The Simpsons style". In order to achieve the desired effect, the animators decided to pixelate the video game.
Bart's chalkboard sentence: I will not scream for ice cream.