George throwing the Tic Tacs on the bed for Estelle (Estelle Harris) to eat so she would stop complaining was completely improvised by Jason Alexander.
The word "masturbation" (the subject of the episode) is never mentioned. The script originally did use the word, but Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David realized that the episode would be funnier and less controversial without it. David claims that if NBC had rejected the episode he would have quit. NBC received only 31 complaints from viewers.
This episode was based on a real-life "contest" that Larry David had with friends of his which lasted several months. David won. He had wanted to write an episode based on the contest earlier in the series, but he was unsure of what the cast's reaction would be.
Jerry Seinfeld claimed that he had never heard of the song "The Wheels on the Bus" before recording the episode.
This episode was ranked number 1 on TV Guide's 2009 list of "100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time."