Trivia from 06 - The Alchemy Exam

• On the page that Mustang is reading about Shou Tucker, the word process is spelled 'precess'.
  
  
• Ed and Al experience the birth of the Hughes's baby when Gracia Hughes goes into labor earlier then expected.
  
  
• Ed celebrates his 12th birthday in this episode.
  
  
• The letter that Mustang is reading about Shou Tucker, "The Sewing Life Alchemist", mentions Britain and the "Scientific Revolution".
  
  
• This episode marks the first time that Ed uses alchemy without a transmutation circle. (Although he does in the first couple episodes, the events in this episode happen before the ones in those)
  
  
• Cultural Allusion: Japanese "honorifics" when dealing with two or more people:
  As noted in "To Challenge the Sun", the use of "honorifics" comes again into play when Nina addresses the Elrics.
  Normally, the politeness marker attributes to age; however, because Nina can't tell Ed and Al's ages, she simply addresses them using politeness markers attributed to size. Hence, she shows politeness by referring to Ed as "Little Big Brother" (the smaller of the Elrics, but older than her and deserving of respect), and Al as "Bigger Brother" (older than her, much taller than she or Ed, and deserving of respect).
  
  
• Ed reading a book: Japanese style of reading
  In most Western countries, sentences are read from left to right. In Japan and other Eastern countries, however, sentences are read the opposite way, from right to left. This style of reading from right to left is carried over when Ed is quickly reading a book from the library; his eyes are scanning the page from right to left.
  
  

Sources: TV.com