The title refers to a Zen koan. A cook had had his preparations delayed for a meal he was supposed to serve a Zen master and his disciples. He quickly goes to the garden, chops up the vegetables, and makes a soup. In his haste he accidentally included part of a snake in the soup. The disciples love the soup, but the master finds the snake's head in his soup. He calls the cook and says, "What is this?" The cook replies, "Oh thank you, master," takes the snake's head, and eats it quickly.
When the crickets are infesting the King's grocery store, one of the customers fleeing the store is wearing a sweater somewhat similar to the Dude's sweater from The Big Lebowski (1998) .
First appearance of Deputy Knudsen, played by Gary Valentine. Knudsen is another connection to the other works of Fargo (1996) directors Joel Coen and Ethan Coen: it is also the maiden name of Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid) from The Big Lebowski (1998), who originally came from around Moorhead, Minnesota, which is located directly across the state line from Fargo, North Dakota.