In the opening scene of this episode, Mary Ellen asks her mother and grandmother if they ever heard of Luther Burbank. She tells them that he was a scientist who "experimented with crossing plants. He crossed one plant with another plant and made all kinds of new plants and vegetables!" Luther Burbank (1849-1926) was indeed a real life scientist, born in Lancaster, Mass., whose work was mainly in the fields of botany, horticulture and agriculture. He is probably most remembered for the Burbank potato, developed to help in the fight against Ireland's potato blight (approx. 1845- 1850) which historical references report had led to such a terrible famine that it is believed over a million people died from starvation and disease, and a million more emigrated to other countries, such as the United States. But, in his long career, Mr. Burbank developed more that 800 strains and varieties of plants, including the Freestone peach, and was inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame in 1986. Mary Ellen continues to quip that she is going to cross a cucumber with a watermelon: "Can you imagine the giant pickles?"