Things Fall Apart: Annotated

The following references to cultural and/or historical events or people in Supervolcano: Things Fall Apart occur during the novel.

Story Order

 * Page 4
 * "Hi-yo Silver!" - The fictional character, the Lone Ranger, is a masked former Texas Ranger who fights injustice in the American Old West. Departing on his white stallion, Silver, the Lone Ranger would shout, "Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!".


 * Page 10
 * Jeopardy! - Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show features a quiz competition in which contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in question form.


 * Page 24
 * Charles Addams cartoon - Charles Samuel "Chas" Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters. Some of the recurring characters, who became known as the Addams Family, have been the basis for spin-offs in television, films and animation.


 * Page 25
 * Great Slave Lake - Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, the deepest lake in North America at 614 metres (336 fathoms; 2,014 ft), and the tenth-largest lake in the world. At 61°N latitude, it's surface is generally frozen from November to mid-June.


 * Page 25
 * Saskatoon - Saskatoon is located in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. It is in the aspen parkland biome and experiences warm summers and very cold winters (plant hardiness zone 2b, record low −50 °C).


 * Page 26
 * Frederick II Hohenstaufen - Frederick II (1194 –1250), was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous.


 * Page 27
 * Theocritus - Theocritus, the creator of Ancient Greece bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC. Bryce Miller enjoyed writing poetry in this style.


 * Page 27
 * ... in this long winter of the planet's discontent. - "Winter of our discontent" is the opening line from William Shakespeare's Richard III. In the Shakespeare play it is used to signify the end of winter, the opposite of what Bryce Miller meant here.


 * Page 27
 * Born to be blaaand! ... Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf is a rock group that was prominent from 1968 - 1972. "Born to Be Wild" is a Top 10 rock song by the group which Bryce Miller "goofs" on.


 * Page 30
 * Labors of Hercules - The twelve labours of Hercules or dodekathlon are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. The establishment of a fixed cycle of twelve labours was attributed by the Greeks to an epic poem, now lost, written by Peisander, dated about 600 BC.


 * Page 30
 * Like the number five in Monty Python and the Holy Grail those were right out - Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python, and directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. The reference to five is to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch where you count to three after removing the pin and to "Five is right out".


 * Page 33
 * Green Day - Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. They are one of the world's best-selling groups of all time, having sold over 75 million albums worldwide.


 * Page 34
 * Weezer - Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1992.


 * Page 39
 * Looks somewhere between Nicolas Cage and an Orthodox icon. - Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964) known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor, producer and director.


 * Page 39
 * ... came from the dark side of the Force. - The dark side of the Force is a fictional moral, philosophical, metaphorical and psychic concept in the Star Wars universe. The Force is a mystical energy which permeates the Star Wars galaxy; its dark side represents an aspect of it that is not practiced by the Jedi who view it as evil.


 * Page 41
 * long pig - European explorers brought home stories of cannibalism from the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia, where human flesh was called long pig.


 * Page 45
 * Lost Chord - "The Lost Chord" is a song composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1877. The lyric was written as a poem by Adelaide Anne Procter called "A Lost Chord," published in 1858. The text depicts an organist idly playing and sounding a magnificent chord like "a great Amen" which he could never rediscover.


 * Page 45
 * Holy Grail - The Holy Grail is a dish, plate, stone, or cup that is part of an important theme of Arthurian literature. The Grail legend became interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice which was the vessel which Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine.


 * Page 45
 * vorpal blade ... "go snicker-snack" ... - Vorpal sword is a phrase used by Lewis Carroll in his nonsense poem "Jabberwocky". One line "the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!" when it was used to decapitate the titular monster.


 * Page 49
 * Dylan - Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, artist, and writer. He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.


 * Page 53
 * ... the law west of the Pecos ... - Phantly Roy Bean, Jr. (c. 1825 – 1903) was an eccentric US saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Law West of the Pecos".


 * Page 62
 * Shakespeare's grave diggers, familiarity lent a quality of easiness - The Gravediggers (or Clowns) are examples of Shakespearean fools, a recurring type of character in Shakespeare's plays. In Hamlet one gravedigger singing a humorous song while digging leads Horatio to explain "Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness."


 * Page 63
 * Trust but verify. - Trust, but verify is a form of advice given which recommends that while a source of information might be considered reliable, one should perform additional research to verify that such information is accurate. The proverb was adopted as a signature phrase by Reagan, who subsequently used it frequently when discussing U.S. relations with the Soviet Union.


 * Page 63
 * Not even the Three Wise Guys - The Magi, also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings were, in Christian tradition, a group of distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.


 * Page 70
 * ... five-star review on Yelp - Yelp, Inc. is an American company that operates an "online urban guide" and business review site.


 * Page 71
 * Johnny Depp - John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, film producer, and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor.


 * Page 74
 * Brown v. Board of Education - Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.


 * Page 75
 * ... have to show me ... Missouri - "I'm from Missouri, you've got to show me." This phrase is attributed to Congressman Willard Vandiver and indicates scepticism, requiring proof before the listener will believe it.


 * Page 77
 * no tengo la culpa - "No tengo la culpa", Spanish for "not my fault".


 * Page 78
 * Manischewitz - Manischewitz is a leading brand of kosher products based in the United States, best known for their matzo and kosher wine.

Contemporary Figures and Things

 * Looks somewhere between Nicolas Cage and an Orthodox icon. - Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964) known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor, producer and director.


 * Johnny Depp - John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, film producer, and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor.


 * Dylan - Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, artist, and writer. He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.


 * Great Slave Lake - Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, the deepest lake in North America at 614 metres (336 fathoms; 2,014 ft), and the tenth-largest lake in the world. At 61°N latitude, it's surface is generally frozen from November to mid-June.


 * Green Day - Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. They are one of the world's best-selling groups of all time, having sold over 75 million albums worldwide.


 * Jeopardy! - Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show features a quiz competition in which contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in question form.


 * Manischewitz - Manischewitz is a leading brand of kosher products based in the United States, best known for their matzo and kosher wine.


 * Like the number five in Monty Python and the Holy Grail those were right out - Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python, and directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. The reference to five is to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch where you count to three after removing the pin and to "Five is right out".


 * Saskatoon - Saskatoon is located in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. It is in the aspen parkland biome and experiences warm summers and very cold winters (plant hardiness zone 2b, record low −50 °C).


 * "Born to be blaaand!" ... Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf is a rock group that was prominent from 1968 - 1972. "Born to Be Wild" is a Top 10 rock song by the group which Bryce Miller "goofs" on.


 * Weezer - Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1992.


 * ... five-star review on Yelp - Yelp, Inc. is an American company that operates an "online urban guide" and business review site.

Fictional Works

 * "Born to be blaaand!" ... Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf is a rock group that was prominent from 1968 - 1972. "Born to Be Wild" is a Top 10 rock song by the group which Bryce Miller "goofs" on.


 * ... came from the dark side of the Force. - The dark side of the Force is a fictional moral, philosophical, metaphorical and psychic concept in the Star Wars universe. The Force is a mystical energy which permeates the Star Wars galaxy; its dark side represents an aspect of it that is not practiced by the Jedi who view it as evil.


 * Labors of Hercules - The twelve labours of Hercules or dodekathlon are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. The establishment of a fixed cycle of twelve labours was attributed by the Greeks to an epic poem, now lost, written by Peisander, dated about 600 BC.


 * Holy Grail - The Holy Grail is a dish, plate, stone, or cup that is part of an important theme of Arthurian literature. The Grail legend became interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice which was the vessel which Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine.


 * "Hi-yo Silver!" - The fictional character, the Lone Ranger, is a masked former Texas Ranger who fights injustice in the American Old West. Departing on his white stallion, Silver, the Lone Ranger would shout, "Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!".


 * Lost Chord - "The Lost Chord" is a song composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1877. The lyric was written as a poem by Adelaide Anne Procter called "A Lost Chord," published in 1858. The text depicts an organist idly playing and sounding a magnificent chord like "a great Amen" which he could never rediscover.


 * Shakespeare's grave diggers, familiarity lent a quality of easiness - The Gravediggers (or Clowns) are examples of Shakespearean fools, a recurring type of character in Shakespeare's plays. In Hamlet one gravedigger singing a humorous song while digging leads Horatio to explain "Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness."


 * Not even the Three Wise Guys - The Magi, also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings were, in Christian tradition, a group of distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.


 * vorpal blade ... "go snicker-snack" ... - Vorpal sword is a phrase used by Lewis Carroll in his nonsense poem "Jabberwocky". One line "the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!" when it was used to decapitate the titular monster.

Historical Figures and Things

 * Charles Addams cartoon - Charles Samuel "Chas" Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters. Some of the recurring characters, who became known as the Addams Family, have been the basis for spin-offs in television, films and animation.


 * Frederick II Hohenstaufen - Frederick II (1194 –1250), was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous.


 * ... the law west of the Pecos ... - Phantly Roy Bean, Jr. (c. 1825 – 1903) was an eccentric US saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Law West of the Pecos".


 * long pig - European explorers brought home stories of cannibalism from the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia, where human flesh was called long pig.


 * Theocritus - Theocritus, the creator of Ancient Greece bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC. Bryce Miller enjoyed writing poetry in this style.

Quotes

 * Shakespeare's grave diggers, familiarity lent a quality of easiness - The Gravediggers (or Clowns) are examples of Shakespearean fools, a recurring type of character in Shakespeare's plays. In Hamlet one gravedigger singing a humorous song while digging leads Horatio to explain "Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness."


 * Like the number five in Monty Python and the Holy Grail those were right out - Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python, and directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. The reference to five is to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch where you count to three after removing the pin and to "Five is right out".


 * "Hi-yo Silver!" - The fictional character, the Lone Ranger, is a masked former Texas Ranger who fights injustice in the American Old West. Departing on his white stallion, Silver, the Lone Ranger would shout, "Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!".


 * vorpal blade ... "go snicker-snack" ... - Vorpal sword is a phrase used by Lewis Carroll in his nonsense poem "Jabberwocky". One line "the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!" when it was used to decapitate the titular monster.


 * Trust but verify. - Trust, but verify is a form of advice given which recommends that while a source of information might be considered reliable, one should perform additional research to verify that such information is accurate. The proverb was adopted as a signature phrase by Reagan, who subsequently used it frequently when discussing U.S. relations with the Soviet Union.


 * ... in this long winter of the planet's discontent. - "Winter of our discontent" is the opening line from William Shakespeare's Richard III. In the Shakespeare play it is used to signify the end of winter, the opposite of what Bryce Miller meant here.