With vast open worlds such as those of the Fallout series, there's plenty of real estate to work with. The post-apocalyptic setting, coupled with a rich and often open-ended backstory, lends itself to some truly remarkable details. Surely you've passed by such novelties in your travels; an oddly positioned corpse, strange markings on objects, or quirky dialogue. But almost nothing in the Wasteland is without reason, every little thing has a reason or a history, it just needs a bit of digging or sporty game of connect-the-dots.

With pop culture references from Snow White to Monty Python, gameplay secrets like Codsworth's hard drive, and disguised tributes to intellectual icons of the region, the games are full of hidden gems and easter eggs just waiting to be discovered. In the many years of Fallout's existence, many of the developers' sneaky additions have been discovered, especially in the earlier games. Some, however, can only be found through dedication, ruthless exploration, and in one or two occasions, a bit of tech savvy.

Here's a free one to get us started: In the world of Fallout, according to a TV report at the start of Fallout 4, the Boston Red Sox never won the World Series in 2004.

20 Draw Me Like One Of Your Disfigured Faces

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In the North End district of Boston in Fallout 4, you'll find seemingly ordinary Commonwealth homes. One particular building, known as Pickman's Gallery, houses some truly horrific "works of art", including creepy paintings, furniture made of "organic" material, and quite a few corpses. Exploring the gallery leads to further insights into the mind of the deranged artist. The gallery itself can be found on the first floor, while on the second you'll come across various surgical equipment (make of that what you will). Pickman himself is based on the character from H.P. Lovecraft's novel, Pickman's Model, in which the artist creates some terribly evil paintings.

19 Pretty Smart For A Raider

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On the topic of New England writers, another famous figure that Bethesda references is Henry David Thoreau. In fact, you can find Walden Pond in Fallout 4, named for the author's famous transcedentalist manifesto called Walden, and also the very location it was written.

There is a gift shop nearby, but you can't get in the usual way without running into some booby traps. There is a detour through a drainage ditch, and in the basement you'll find some raiders. Before attacking, you can hear them having an intellectual conversation about Thoreau and his manifesto.

18 Talk About "Hungover"

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If you follow the Minutemen quest line, you'll eventually arrive at The Castle (Fort Independence in real life), also their headquarters. In one room, you'll find a couple cases of Amontillado wine and a hole in the wall. Behind this hole is a chained up skeleton.

This is a reference to a work by Edgar Allen Poe. The author himself, while serving in the military, was actually stationed at Fort Independence when he heard a bit of folklore. As the story goes, there were two rival Lieutenants: Robert Massie and Gustavo Drane. After Drane killed Massie in a duel, the soldiers got him drunk (on Amontillado wine), lured him to the basement, and walled him up alive. While this story isn't true, it served as inspiration for Poe's story, The Cask of Amontillado.

17 The Gang's All Here (Read: Dead)

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Before How I Met Your Mother, there was Friends. Before that, we had Seinfeld. And before that we had Cheers, the great American sitcom which ran from 1982 to 1993 and was set in Boston, MA, also the setting of Fallout 4. The series mostly took place in a bar called Cheers, where the locals would gather for their usual comedic shenanigans. In the game, Bethesda saw fit to create a virtual version of that bar, which you may know as the Prost Bar. They included the jukebox, baseball novelties, and even recognizable patrons (despite the fact that they're dead). If you need a break from the raiders and monsters, take a seat and have a glass. The crowd can't talk, but they can definitely listen.

16 Just Make Sure You Take Cover

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In the days before the war, ArcJet Systems was private aerospace contractor that built a variety of aircraft and aerial devices. As they had many military contracts as well, it makes sense that some of their structures would be scattered about the Wasteland. As it happens, you can find an old engine in Fallout 4, a little ways east of the Greater Mass Blood Clinic.

On the side, there is a terminal you can interact with to try and restart the engine. However, after a brief pause, you'll get an error message indicating a breach in the propellent system which could result in a possible "catastrophic failure". The next thing you'll want to do is take cover and watch the fireworks.

15 Bend The Knee Before The Roach King

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After a perilous trek towards an unmarked location northeast of the Minefield in Fallout 3, you'll find an enigmatic NPC called The Roach King on their throne. This self-proclaimed monarch has no specified gender, and is actually randomized when you meet him/her. Also, he/she has somehow found a way to tame radroaches, hence his/her title. Assuming the king isn't dead when you find him/her, killing him/her causes all the nearby radroaches to turn hostile. The king him/herself will always be hostile, but besting the Roach King and his/her minions rewards you with a minigun and rare mini nuke.

14 Fulfill Your Dream Of Getting Banned From A Casino

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Similar to the original city in real life, the sanctuary of New Vegas in Fallout is known for its various casinos and gambling establishments. For a new player, it might've been a thrill running off to the Strip to try your luck in a sporty game of cards or roulette. Still, the House (specifically Mr. House, the person turned brain bot and owner of the casinos) always wins so it's likely that you didn't make the fortune you were hoping for. Then again, maybe you got lucky or kept reloading from a save until you won. In any case, it's entirely possible that you did beat the casino and made a hefty sum of cash. However, just like real life casinos, if you win enough money in the game, you'll actually get banned from playing at that casino. Here's a challenge: get banned from every casino on the Strip.

13 Rube Goldberg Would Be Proud

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Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist in the 1900s who was best known for his sketches of Rube Goldberg machines, overly complex devices which go through a series of activations and movements to accomplish some end goal. A great example is the "Self-Operating Napkin", in which lifting a spoon causes a napkin to wipe one's chin, after about a dozen quirky little events.

Fallout 3 just so happens to have a real-life version of this machine. Just northwest of Jury Street Metro Station, there is a store called Gold Ribbon Grocers, and the whole establishment is set up as a Rube Goldberg machine which uses explosives, boxes, pressure plates, and other such objects to work. Activating the machine by triggering a pressure plate gives you an entertaining show and some nice loot at the end.

12 Straight From The Nostromo Itself

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There is a repeatable quest for the Brotherhood of Steel which involves fetching pieces of random junk. However, repeat this quest often, and you may be asked to get a flux sensor. Examine this gizmo, and you'll notice the serial code: "CM-88B 180924609". For many this may just be a random alphanumeric string, but it's actually the serial number for the Nostromo, the CM-88B Bison spacecraft which served as the setting for Ridley Scott's Alien. It's uncertain what Scribe Haylen, the questgiver, wants with these parts but perhaps it has something to do with Weland-Yutani, the corporation that builds the ships.

11 Did Your Name Make The List?

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Most of us are familiar with Codsworth, the robot helper from Fallout 4. While originally bought as a butler by the Sole Survivor, he is equipped with some weaponry and can be enlisted as a companion in certain quests. He'll also act as a conversation partner in some cases, and he even has the potential to say your name.

With a big of digging, a user on Reddit found a list of the 924 names Codsworth was programmed to be able to say. If you give one of these names to your character, some of which are ridiculously hilarious, he'll actually say them in a British accent. Otherwise, he'll refer to you as Miss or Mister, depending on your gender preference.

10 I Wanna Know What Love Is

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On the subject of robots, Fallout is known to explore in detail the nature of artificial intelligence with the Synths. While Codsworth is a different kind of robot, he also shows the capacity to feel emotion. In Fallout 4, if you take him to your late spouse's cryopod, he will say a line, offering his condolences.

In Diamond City, you'll meet another robot similar to Codsworth called Miss Edna, who speaks in a French accent rather than British. While conversing with her, she'll hint at a certain romance between her and her owner, Mister Zwicky. If you encourage this and convince her that love is real, she will be married to him the next time you meet.

9 Hey! Who Turned Out The Lights?!

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Big Mountain Research and Development Center, better known as Big MT, was the site of numerous cases of ethically questionable scientific research. One such invention, though relatively good-intentioned, was the Y-17 Trauma Harness. Essentially, it was a combat suit designed to monitor the user's vitals. If they reached a certain injury threshold, the suit would assume motor functions and walk the user to the nearest base or medical facility. A major flaw that was never remedied was the inability of the suit to determine when the user was dead. As such, you'll meet many skeletons being walked around by the suit, endlessly fighting until the suit is destroyed.

As horrifying as that is, if you have the Wild Wasteland perk, you'll hear an iconic Doctor Who reference.

8 Ramen With A Side Of Noir

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Fallout 4's Diamond City is brimming with subtle references and secret events. A more interesting homage to pop culture comes from Takahashi, the iconic robot chef at Power Noodles. This ramen eatery sits near the center of the city market, and is frequented by many of its citizens. If you buy noodles and converse with Takahashi, he'll only say one thing: "Na-ni shimasu-ka?" which translates to "What will you have?" This is a nod to the popular film, Blade Runner, where the protagonist, Deckard, eats noodles at a restaurant where the chef notably asks the same question of all his patrons.

While somewhat of a minor thing in America, Bethesda decided to send instant ramen with a Power Noodles theme to gaming publications in Japan. Whether this was a PR campaign or friendly gesture, is unclear.

7 That Belongs In A - Oh, I'm Dead

via: Bethesda

One reason you may not know this one is that the film it references was a massive disappointment, and you were somehow spared from watching it.  In Fallout: New Vegas, there is a fridge laying on the ground with a missing door. In this fridge you'll find two things: a skeleton, and a "Suave Gambler's Hat". The latter has a strong resemblance to the hat of our favorite whip-wielding, gun-slinging explorer. This easter egg is actually a reference to the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the fourth and most recent installment (and probably last) of the famous franchise. In the movie, much to the dismay of scientists everywhere, Indy survives a nuclear blast by hiding out in a fridge from a Nuketown-like setting. The body in Fallout shows us how that scene would've actually gone down.

6 What Is It With This Game And Murderous Little Girls

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In the Fallout 4 add-on Nuka-World, you might visit the famous amusement park inspired in part by the real life Disney World. Nuka-Town U.S.A is named after Main Street, Galactic Zone references Tomorrowland, and Safari Adventure takes after Adventureland. Another attraction is the Grandchester Mystery Mansion, which is based both on the Haunted Mansion ride as well as the very real Winchester Mystery House. According to legend, a little girl was possessed, killed both her parents, escaped custody, then killed herself, left to forever roam the halls as a ghost.

While just a fun ride in the pre-war days, it seems the ghost survived the nuclear holocaust and can be seen walking through walls and causing other paranormal occurrences within the mansion.

5 Speaking Of Ghosts

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Fallout is full of some weird and seemingly fictional stuff like talking dogs, strange monsters, and aliens. However, all of this can still be chalked up to advanced science, and is well within the bounds of our current reality. However, the ghost from the Grandchester Mystery Mansion is just one piece of evidence suggesting there is a more supernatural element to the game. Walk through any graveyard in the game, and you'll hear faint voices emanating from the headstones. They are faint enough to be mistaken for the wind or some nearby tangible enemy, but prominent enough to make you wonder if it really is the call of the dead.

4 Don't Take Apples From Strangers

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Along your travels in Fallout: New Vegas, you may have come across a construction site with a massive crane, some bulldozers, a couple storage containers, and other things you'd normally find in such a location. However, one aspect that's out of place are these large, red crystals sticking out of the ground. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice garden gnomes (seven, to be exact) staggered among them, along with some pickaxes and lanterns. Next to them is a fresh grave with no headstone. This seems to be a gloomy reference to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, except this time the Disney Princess had no prince to kiss her awake, and met a much darker fate.

3 The Lake Mead Monster

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Hidden at the bottom of a lake in Fallout: New Vegas, you'll find a surprisingly intact Boeing B-29 Superfortress. These were used primarily during World War II, and decommissioned after the surrender of Japan. Those still in assembly were mostly scrapped (some were stored away), and the line was eventually replaced by the superior B-50.

If you align with the Boomers, you actually have the option to pull the wreckage from the lake and have it reassembled. Listen to Radio New Vegas afterwards, and you'll hear reports of the Lake Mead Monster, as many won't be able to distinguish the massive craft as object or creature. Interestingly enough, the plane is a reference to a real life B-29 that crashed in Lake Mead in 1948 as a result of an experiment.

2 One Of The Most Powerful Weapons In The Wasteland

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While not based on a real-life event, nor underwater, a crashed Vertibird can be found in a crater due east of the Old Nuclear Crash Site in Fallout: New Vegas. The wreckage is guarded by a group of powerful sentry bots, murderous Mister Gutsys, and terrifying feral ghouls. Should you be brave enough to get past this makeshift security detail, you'll be rewarded with the Tesla-Beaton Prototype, the most powerful Tesla Cannon in the game with a cap value of 12,525.

Achieving this goal will also trigger a recollection for the Auld Lang Syne companion quest, but finding the Vertibird itself must be done without the rails of a quest to guide you.

1 Make Your Own Game If You're So Clever

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There is a place, full of danger and ill will, where people congregate to exchange their brutally honest thoughts and opinions on all things in media and more. This is not a location in the wasteland, but somewhere far more perilous and real: the Internet. You may be familiar with a site called SomethingAwful Forums, the place where many famous memes and references were first born, and also a message board for reviewing games.

One day, a group on the site decided to make their own game, apparently fed up with their options of the time and hoping to utilize their self-proclaimed game design expertise. It was called Zybourne Clock, and it failed miserably. The plot involved time travel, and the concept was explained using a metaphor with four balls on the edge of a cliff. It also had a laughably-designed main protagonist called Johnny Five Aces. In the image above, you'll see Fallout: New Vegas poking fun at the abandoned project.