Trivia from 01 - To Challange the Sun

• "To Challenge the Sun" is based on Chapter 1, Volume 1 of the manga: "The Two Alchemists"
  
  
• Only three volumes of the manga was published when the production of the anime began, so there wasn't much materail to base it on. Therefore it was decided that the anime would go in a different direction than the manga.
  
  
• When Al breaks the radio at the beginning of the episode, there is a mistake: when the radio falls and smashes on the ground, it's shown with a cord. After Al fixes it using the transmutation circle, however, there is no cord; even when he carries it back to the bar, there is still no cord.
  
  
• First appearance of Lust and Gluttony. Envy gets a name check, but does not appear in it's true form.
  
  
• Right after Edward says "It's your fault for not stopping when I said" and before they show the Town of Lior caption, for a quick frame, you can see some Japanese characters and 1:05:18:19
  
  
• Daedalus and Icarus:
  When Ed says "Get close to the sun, and all you'll do is burn up", after speaking about the sun in comparison to God, he is referring to the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus. The title of the episode "To Challenge the Sun", also alludes to it.
  
  In the myth, an inventor, Daedalus, creates wax wings for his son, Icarus, and himself to fly. Daedalus warns Icarus to not fly too high, towards the Gods, but Icarus doesn't listen. When Icarus gets too close to the sun, and the Gods, the wax on his wings melts and he plummets to the sea below.
  
  The myth teaches that when people become arrogant and try to act like gods, they will just end up failing. This is how Ed thinks of his attempt to revive his mother.
  
  
• Lior's Fountain of Wine: Water to Wine:
  Cornello's miracle is a reference to the miracle of water to wine — one of Jesus Christ's many miracles.
  
  
• Chimeras:
  A Chimera is first introduced in this episode. A Chimera in the series is the result of Alchemically combining animals together to get a new creature. In Greek mythology a Chimera was an animal that was part Lion, part snake and part goat.
  
  
• Cultural Allusion: Japanese "Honorifics":
  Beginning in this episode and seen throughout the series, the Japanese tradition of "honorifics" is noted in regards to the way certain characters address others in the series. Nowhere is this more notable than in the way Al addresses Ed simply as "Brother."
  
  In Japan, a politeness-based society, there are markers built into the language that are used for addressing one's elders or for addressing someone of great respect, importance, or stature in society. This use of markers is generally one-sided (those receiving the politeness term often do not return the gesture to the inferior speaker).
  
  This form of speaking also falls into address terms for family members, hence, as Ed is the elder brother, Al shows respect by addressing him as "Brother" while Ed simply uses Al's name.
  
  
  

Sources: TV.com