Patty tells Barry she is planning to attend Midway City University for CSI. Midway City is also the home of Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
Cisco's line "From hell's heart, I stab at thee" is from Moby-Dick, spoken by Ahab in the climactic battle with the white whale. This echoes Caitlin's comment that the Turtle is Cisco's white whale.
Full quote is - "Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! and since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!"
"From Hell's heart I stab at thee" is not just a quote from Moby Dick but is also a quote from Star Trek's Wrath of Khan and Cisco loves to quote popular culture from movies.
The 'Crystal Ball' painting is said to be on loan from Markovia. Markovia is a fictional, small European country, that only exists in the DC universe, with its capital being Markovburg. It was first seen in DC in The Brave and the Bold #200 (July 1983)
First appearance of The Turtle