Couch Gag: There's an Olympic-sized pool leading to the couch. The Simpsons take their places on the marks and swim to the couch once a starter pistol goes off. Marge is first, Lisa's second, Bart is third, and Maggie is last. The family looks around, wondering where Homer is. Cut to a shot of an unconscious Homer floating facedown in the pool.

Bart: Wait, here comes the "Mykia".
Willy: What's a "Mykia"?
Visual: A tree stump crashes down on Principal Skinner's car (a Kia car)
Skinner: My Kia!

Willy: I'm laughing to fit in, but I still don't get it.

Homer: The motto of the Simpsons is "Quit while you're ahead".
Marge: I made it into a sampler.
Visual: The sampler has "Quit while you're ahea" written on it.

Homer: I'm warning you, when something goes into that went, it shouldn't come out.
Visual: We see two letters inside the went; one from "IRS Final Notice" and one from "M.R.I. Results Urgent".
Homer: Ever!

In the year 1860, the Canadian Maple Leaf flag is seen in this episode, however the flag wasn't invented until 1964 and didn't become Canada's official flag until 1965.

The title of this episode is adapted from 'The Color Purple', the 1982 novel by American author Alice Walker which spawned a 1985 film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg that starred an all star cast including Whoppi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover and most recently spawned a 2005 Broadway musical.

While in the attic, Lisa walks by Bart's “I Didn't Do It” t-shirt from the episode Bart Gets Famous, Marge's Ringo Starr painting from the episode Brush with Greatness, Homer's space suit from Deep Space Homer, Homer's Grammy Award from Homer's Barbershop Quartet, Funzo from the episode Grift of the Magi, Marge's calendar from the episode The Devil Wears Nada, the skull bong from the episode Weekend at Burnsie's, the Olmec Indian head Xtapolapocetl from the episode Blood Feud, the Golem statue from the Treehouse of Horror XVII, Bart's Mary Worth telephone from the episode Bart Sells His Soul, Homer's bear fighting suit from the episode The Fat and the Furriest, Homer's Mr. Plow jacket from the episode Mr. Plow & Homer's Talking Astrolabe from the episode 'Tis the Fifteenth Season