(), South Africans of Hispanic origins.
The first Spaniards to live in South Africa were refugees who fled Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939 and Francisco Franco’s administration until his death in 1975. Some of them may be native-born Equatorial Guineans who transferred to South Africa also as refugees who escaped harsh administration of Francisco Macías Nguema while the rest are people whose Spanish descent is from one of Hispanic countries of Latin America (i.e. mostly originated from Chile and Argentina). They settled in South Africa as businesspeople or simple people. Most of them have been assimilated to mainstream white South African society and many of them even intermarried with blacks, other whites and Asians.
Most Spanish South Africans are Castilians and Basques. There are some Galician, Catalan, Andalusian, Aragonese, Asturian, Gypsy, Spanish Jewish, Filipino Spaniards and Chinese ethnicities in Spanish population.
Most of them exclusively speak English or Afrikaans. They may also speak one of official South African Bantu languages, like Zulu, Tswana, and Xitsonga. Only a few Spanish South Africans speak Spanish and regional Spanish languages Basque, Catalan and Galician.
Most Spaniards and Latin Americans, like most other South Africans, are Christians, but most in their case, they are Roman Catholics. There are some Protestants among them. Some are Jews, whose ancestors escaped Inquisition.
The first Spaniards to live in South Africa were refugees who fled Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939 and Francisco Franco’s administration until his death in 1975. Some of them may be native-born Equatorial Guineans who transferred to South Africa also as refugees who escaped harsh administration of Francisco Macías Nguema while the rest are people whose Spanish descent is from one of Hispanic countries of Latin America (i.e. mostly originated from Chile and Argentina). They settled in South Africa as businesspeople or simple people. Most of them have been assimilated to mainstream white South African society and many of them even intermarried with blacks, other whites and Asians.
Most Spanish South Africans are Castilians and Basques. There are some Galician, Catalan, Andalusian, Aragonese, Asturian, Gypsy, Spanish Jewish, Filipino Spaniards and Chinese ethnicities in Spanish population.
Most of them exclusively speak English or Afrikaans. They may also speak one of official South African Bantu languages, like Zulu, Tswana, and Xitsonga. Only a few Spanish South Africans speak Spanish and regional Spanish languages Basque, Catalan and Galician.
Most Spaniards and Latin Americans, like most other South Africans, are Christians, but most in their case, they are Roman Catholics. There are some Protestants among them. Some are Jews, whose ancestors escaped Inquisition.
Extensive teleprompter usage by U.S. President Barack Obama during his presidential campaign and his presidency has been noticed by the media and has drawn criticism. For example,
The Times Online wrote, "Mr Obama is becoming known as the 'teleprompter president' for his excessive use of the prompting screens, which retract when speeches are finished." This criticism has been rejected by supporters of the president. Michael Waldman, President Bill Clinton’s chief speechwriter, said "I don’t think anybody doubts that he's expressing his own thoughts."
In a New York Times opinion column, Maureen Dowd wrote, "Barack Obama even needs a teleprompter to get mad."
=="That was an experience I will never forget."==
According to The New York Times, while recalling a childhood vacation, Obama even read from a teleprompter when he said, "That was an experience I will never forget."
Malfunctions
On June 17th, 2008, Barack Obama's teleprompter went out at a campaign event in Bristol, Virginia. As a result, he was criticized for giving a poor speech:
After the teleprompter malfunctioned a few times last summer and Obama delivered some less-than-soaring speeches, reports surfaced that he was training to wean himself off of the device while on vacation in Hawaii. But no such luck.. While Denis Staunton, the Irish Times journalist, was actually in Washington for the event, almost all other news sources merely quoted or marginally altered their text from a press release put out by Associated Press. That press release used the wording "Obama laughed and returned to the podium to offer what might have been Cowen's remarks. In doing so, President Obama thanked President Obama for inviting everyone over." This was understood by almost everyone to mean that Obama made a lighthearted joke in reference to Cowen's earlier slip-up. However, David Byers of the Times (of London), wrote an entirely different account of the incident, reporting that Obama, instead of making a joke, had inadvertently read the start of Cowen's speech at this point.. This apparently erroneous report was then singled out by US political commentator Rush Limbaugh to assert that "The British newspapers skewer Obama on the subject." , and make further allegations that Obama "ended up reading the speech the teleprompter wrote for the Irish Prime Minister." However, it appears that David Byers was not present in Washington for the event, and like most of the other newspaper journalists was merely working from a press release. The accounts of journalists noted as being present in Washington, Denis Staunton of the Irish Times (and Rupert Cornwell of the Independent ) make it clear that Obama was making an intentional joke.
Teleprompter of the United States of America
According to Canada Free Press, Rush Limbaugh started referring to Obama's teleprompter as "TOTUS," which stands for "Teleprompter of the United States of America."
Defense of Obama
Robert Schlesinger, the deputy assistant managing editor at U.S. News and World Report, rebuffed criticism of President Obama's reliance on teleprompters by pointing out that using prepared remarks is not out of the ordinary for a President.<ref name=usnews/>
White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said, "Whether one uses note cards or a teleprompter, the American people are a lot more concerned about the plans relayed than the method of delivery."<ref name=politico/>
The Times Online wrote, "Mr Obama is becoming known as the 'teleprompter president' for his excessive use of the prompting screens, which retract when speeches are finished." This criticism has been rejected by supporters of the president. Michael Waldman, President Bill Clinton’s chief speechwriter, said "I don’t think anybody doubts that he's expressing his own thoughts."
In a New York Times opinion column, Maureen Dowd wrote, "Barack Obama even needs a teleprompter to get mad."
=="That was an experience I will never forget."==
According to The New York Times, while recalling a childhood vacation, Obama even read from a teleprompter when he said, "That was an experience I will never forget."
Malfunctions
On June 17th, 2008, Barack Obama's teleprompter went out at a campaign event in Bristol, Virginia. As a result, he was criticized for giving a poor speech:
After the teleprompter malfunctioned a few times last summer and Obama delivered some less-than-soaring speeches, reports surfaced that he was training to wean himself off of the device while on vacation in Hawaii. But no such luck.. While Denis Staunton, the Irish Times journalist, was actually in Washington for the event, almost all other news sources merely quoted or marginally altered their text from a press release put out by Associated Press. That press release used the wording "Obama laughed and returned to the podium to offer what might have been Cowen's remarks. In doing so, President Obama thanked President Obama for inviting everyone over." This was understood by almost everyone to mean that Obama made a lighthearted joke in reference to Cowen's earlier slip-up. However, David Byers of the Times (of London), wrote an entirely different account of the incident, reporting that Obama, instead of making a joke, had inadvertently read the start of Cowen's speech at this point.. This apparently erroneous report was then singled out by US political commentator Rush Limbaugh to assert that "The British newspapers skewer Obama on the subject." , and make further allegations that Obama "ended up reading the speech the teleprompter wrote for the Irish Prime Minister." However, it appears that David Byers was not present in Washington for the event, and like most of the other newspaper journalists was merely working from a press release. The accounts of journalists noted as being present in Washington, Denis Staunton of the Irish Times (and Rupert Cornwell of the Independent ) make it clear that Obama was making an intentional joke.
Teleprompter of the United States of America
According to Canada Free Press, Rush Limbaugh started referring to Obama's teleprompter as "TOTUS," which stands for "Teleprompter of the United States of America."
Defense of Obama
Robert Schlesinger, the deputy assistant managing editor at U.S. News and World Report, rebuffed criticism of President Obama's reliance on teleprompters by pointing out that using prepared remarks is not out of the ordinary for a President.<ref name=usnews/>
White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said, "Whether one uses note cards or a teleprompter, the American people are a lot more concerned about the plans relayed than the method of delivery."<ref name=politico/>
Green Blog is a multi-author environment blog. They have daily updates and posts from authors around the world. Green Blog also host a growing green community forum. Green Blog is leaned towards the left, social democracy and ecosocialism. Green Blog encourage people to take direct non-violent action against CO2 emitting sources and protest against the current climate change inaction.
Authors
Green Blog is a multi-author blog with nearly 20 authors from around the world. The blog also features guest authors on various occasions.
* Alice Young (USA)
* Artemis Mindrinou (Greece)
* Benno Hansen (Denmark)
* Carter Lavin (USA, currently lives in Spain)
* Christine Reed (USA)
* Daniel Harrison (USA)
* Dr Gideon Polya (Australia) published some 130 works in a 4 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text "Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds". He has recently published “[http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/%20%20and%20http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950]”; see also his contribution “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” in “”. He has just published a revised and updated 2008 version of his 1998 book “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” as biofuel-, globalization- and climate-driven global food price increases threaten a greater famine catastrophe than the man-made famine in British-ruled India that killed 6-7 million Indians in the “forgotten” World War 2 Bengal Famine (see recent BBC broadcast involving Dr Polya, Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and others). When words fail one can say it in pictures - for images of Gideon Polya’s huge paintings for Peace and for Mother and Child see “[http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-NvVV9NY2cqLwKJxdb8JAymVZRA--?cq1&p1 Truth , Beauty & Saving the World - Science, Art & Nuclear, Greenhouse & Poverty Threats]”).
* Heather Johnson
* Ian Angus (Canada) has been active in movements for social justice since the 1960s. He is editor of the online journal Climate and Capitalism, and a founding member of the Ecosocialist International Network.
* Jennifer Kaplan
* Jesse Herman
* Kelly Kilpatrick
* Kim Rowe (USA)
* Liz Thompson (USA)
* Miguel Dias (Portugal)
* Shmuel Ben (Israel)
* Simon Leufstedt (Sweden)
Tree planting program
Green Blog has via their community forum Enviro Space an active tree planting program.
For every hundred members that register an account in the community two trees will be planted. And for every thousand posts published in the community forum one tree will be planted. So far the Green Blog community members have helped in the planting of 6 trees.
The trees are being planted in Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan with the help from WWF and NEWtrees, both supported by the United Nations Environment Programme.
If you have access to Google Earth you can check out the locations of the trees:
* Tree #1: info missing
* Tree #3: info missing
* Tree #3: (-2.58114 latitude, 114.029665 longitude)
* Tree #4: (-2.5810925 latitude, 114.029665 longitude)
* Tree #5: (-2.5813775 latitude, 114.0284775 longitude)
* Tree #6: (-2.58133 latitude, 114.0284775 longitude)
Authors
Green Blog is a multi-author blog with nearly 20 authors from around the world. The blog also features guest authors on various occasions.
* Alice Young (USA)
* Artemis Mindrinou (Greece)
* Benno Hansen (Denmark)
* Carter Lavin (USA, currently lives in Spain)
* Christine Reed (USA)
* Daniel Harrison (USA)
* Dr Gideon Polya (Australia) published some 130 works in a 4 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text "Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds". He has recently published “[http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/%20%20and%20http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950]”; see also his contribution “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” in “”. He has just published a revised and updated 2008 version of his 1998 book “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” as biofuel-, globalization- and climate-driven global food price increases threaten a greater famine catastrophe than the man-made famine in British-ruled India that killed 6-7 million Indians in the “forgotten” World War 2 Bengal Famine (see recent BBC broadcast involving Dr Polya, Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and others). When words fail one can say it in pictures - for images of Gideon Polya’s huge paintings for Peace and for Mother and Child see “[http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-NvVV9NY2cqLwKJxdb8JAymVZRA--?cq1&p1 Truth , Beauty & Saving the World - Science, Art & Nuclear, Greenhouse & Poverty Threats]”).
* Heather Johnson
* Ian Angus (Canada) has been active in movements for social justice since the 1960s. He is editor of the online journal Climate and Capitalism, and a founding member of the Ecosocialist International Network.
* Jennifer Kaplan
* Jesse Herman
* Kelly Kilpatrick
* Kim Rowe (USA)
* Liz Thompson (USA)
* Miguel Dias (Portugal)
* Shmuel Ben (Israel)
* Simon Leufstedt (Sweden)
Tree planting program
Green Blog has via their community forum Enviro Space an active tree planting program.
For every hundred members that register an account in the community two trees will be planted. And for every thousand posts published in the community forum one tree will be planted. So far the Green Blog community members have helped in the planting of 6 trees.
The trees are being planted in Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan with the help from WWF and NEWtrees, both supported by the United Nations Environment Programme.
If you have access to Google Earth you can check out the locations of the trees:
* Tree #1: info missing
* Tree #3: info missing
* Tree #3: (-2.58114 latitude, 114.029665 longitude)
* Tree #4: (-2.5810925 latitude, 114.029665 longitude)
* Tree #5: (-2.5813775 latitude, 114.0284775 longitude)
* Tree #6: (-2.58133 latitude, 114.0284775 longitude)
The computer game NetHack draws from many mythologies which are not explicitly fictional, as well as works of modern fiction and other computer games.
Arabic
* djinni
* ghoul
Babylonian
* Marduk, the Creator
* The cave(wo)man pantheon: Anu, Ishtar and Anshar
Caribbean
* zombie
Celtic
* The knight pantheon: Lugh, Brigit and Manannan mac Lir
Chinese
* dragon—but see below
* ki-rin
* The monk pantheon: Shan Lai Ching, Chih Sung-tzu and Huan Ti
* yeti
Greek
* Archon
* centaur
* Cerberus (this monster does not appear in actual game currently)
* Geryon
* erinys
* Medusa
* minotaur
* nymph
* The Cyclops
* The healer pantheon: Athena, Hermes and Poseidon
* The Staff of Aesculapius
* titan
* The statue of Perseus
* Sirius (ranger's pet dog name, referring to Orion's dog)
Egyptian
* Book of the Dead
* The wizard pantheon: Ptah, Thoth and Anhur
English
* Ettin
European
Some monsters are taken from myths and folklore whose precise origins are unknown, but which are essentially medieval European.
* bugbear
* chickatrice
* cockatrice
* dragons were known to the Chinese, but dragons as monsters is a European myth
* gargoyle
* giants are present in almost all cultures
* goblin
* gremlin
* imp
* incubus
* kraken
* leocrotta
* leprechaun
* ogre
* succubus
* troll
* unicorn
* vampire
* werewolf
Germanic
* doppelgänger
* elf
* gnome
* kobold
Hindu
* naga
Japanese
* The samurai pantheon: Amaterasu Omikami, Raijin and Susanowo
* The tsurugi of Muramasa
* tengu
Judeo-Christian
* Angel
* Asmodeus
* Baalzebub
* golem
* Hell (now called Gehennom)
* Moloch
* Three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Death, Famine, and Pestilence (in conversation with these three, and in the sourcecode, the role of War is implied to have been assumed by the player)
* The invocation ritual ("Bell, book, and candle") is loosely connected to the Catholic excommunication ceremony
Mesoamerican
* couatl or coatl is the nahuatl name for snakes
* The archeologist pantheon: Quetzalcoatl, Camaxtli and Huhetotl (a variant spelling of Huehueteotl)
* xans are named after the mosquito from Popol Vuh
Norse
* dwarf
* Mjollnir, the artifact war hammer
* The valkyrie class and pantheon: Tyr, Odin and Loki
* Lord Surtur
North American
* The cryptozoological sasquatch
Roman
* Demogorgon
* Dispater
* Geryon
* lemure
* manes
* Orcus
* The ranger pantheon: Mercury, Venus and Mars
Welsh
* Excalibur
* King Arthur
* The Cŵn Annwn
Fiction
NetHack draws on several fictional works, especially Dungeons & Dragons and the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, but also many other fantasy writers, some of which in turn were inspired by ancient myths.
Dungeons & Dragons
* Aleax
* gelatinous cube
* giant spider
* green slime
* hezrou
* Juiblex, the demon lord
* lich
* lurker above
* marilith
* mimic
* mind flayer
* nalfeshnee
* owlbear
* piercer
* pit fiend
* pyrolisk
* quasit
* rothé
* rust monster
* trapper
* umber hulk
* vrock
* winter wolf
* xorn
* Yeenoghu, the demon lord
Tolkien
* balrog
* barrow wight
* cram ration
* dwarvish/elven mithril coat
* Elbereth
* hobbit
* lembas wafer
* Mordor orc
* mumak
* Nazgûl
* Olog-hai
* orc
* Orcrist, the artifact weapon
* Sting, the artifact weapon
* The ranger class
* Uruk-hai
* warg
Poetry
* Jabberwocks and Vorpal Blade, the artifact sword, are from Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky"
* The Magic Mirror of Merlin is from Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene
* References to 'Maud' when the player characters lose their memory are inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Maud"
Literature
* Grayswandir, the artifact silver saber, is from Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber
* Stormbringer, the artifact runesword, is from the Elric fantasy fiction stories by Michael Moorcock
* The barbarian class and pantheon (Mitra, Crom, Set), Pelias, the Heart of Ahriman, and Thoth-Amon are related to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian novels
* The tourist class, pantheon (Blind Io, The Lady, Offler) and quest (with Twoflower) are based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld
* The rogue class pantheon (Issek of the Jug, Mog, Kos) is from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories.
* The crysknife is from Frank Herbert's Dune novel, and the "Long Worms" are based on Dunes sandworms, called Shai-Hulud
* The towel, the graffiti message "We apologize for the inconvenience", the dog-eared spellbook and several hallucination monsters are from Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
* The Eyes of the Overworld and sandestins are from Jack Vance's Dying Earth books
* The graffiti messages "A.S. ->" and "<- A.S." are references to Journey to the Center of the Earth
* A player who has become invisible can wear a "mummy wrapping" in order to become visible again, a reference to the opening scene of H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man
* A hatching dragon makes a cry of "Gleep!"—a reference to the dragon Gleep from MythAdventures
Film and television
* The archeologist class (starting with fedora, leather jacket and bullwhip) is based on Indiana Jones movie character
* gremlins appear with their unique characteristics as portrayed in the 1984 movie Gremlins
* grid bugs are from the 1982 movie Tron
* The save and exit message "Be seeing you..." is from The Prisoner
* The Keystone Kops from early silent films appear as the game's police force
Video games
* The Wizard of Yendor first appeared in NetHack's predecessor, Hack
* The wumpus is from the computer game Hunt the Wumpus
* The brass lantern, the fortune cookie message "The magic word is XYZZY" and the graffiti message "You won't get it up the steps" are references to Adventure
* The 'Sokoban' levels are a tribute to the Japanese computer game of the same name
* NetHacks currency, the zorkmid, is from the computer game Zork
Other
* Snickersnee, the artifact katana, is from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado
* The graffiti message "notary sojak" is a reference to Smokey Stover
* Eating tinned spinach produces the message "This makes you feel like Popeye!"
* The Quantum Mechanic monster may drop a box containing Schrödinger's cat
Reality
Some characters and monsters are based on historical reality:
* Ashikaga Takauji
* baluchitherium
* Croesus
* Hippocrates
* killer bee
* Lord Carnarvon
* mastodon
* Oracle of Delphi
* queen bee
* titanothere
* Vlad the Impaler
Arabic
* djinni
* ghoul
Babylonian
* Marduk, the Creator
* The cave(wo)man pantheon: Anu, Ishtar and Anshar
Caribbean
* zombie
Celtic
* The knight pantheon: Lugh, Brigit and Manannan mac Lir
Chinese
* dragon—but see below
* ki-rin
* The monk pantheon: Shan Lai Ching, Chih Sung-tzu and Huan Ti
* yeti
Greek
* Archon
* centaur
* Cerberus (this monster does not appear in actual game currently)
* Geryon
* erinys
* Medusa
* minotaur
* nymph
* The Cyclops
* The healer pantheon: Athena, Hermes and Poseidon
* The Staff of Aesculapius
* titan
* The statue of Perseus
* Sirius (ranger's pet dog name, referring to Orion's dog)
Egyptian
* Book of the Dead
* The wizard pantheon: Ptah, Thoth and Anhur
English
* Ettin
European
Some monsters are taken from myths and folklore whose precise origins are unknown, but which are essentially medieval European.
* bugbear
* chickatrice
* cockatrice
* dragons were known to the Chinese, but dragons as monsters is a European myth
* gargoyle
* giants are present in almost all cultures
* goblin
* gremlin
* imp
* incubus
* kraken
* leocrotta
* leprechaun
* ogre
* succubus
* troll
* unicorn
* vampire
* werewolf
Germanic
* doppelgänger
* elf
* gnome
* kobold
Hindu
* naga
Japanese
* The samurai pantheon: Amaterasu Omikami, Raijin and Susanowo
* The tsurugi of Muramasa
* tengu
Judeo-Christian
* Angel
* Asmodeus
* Baalzebub
* golem
* Hell (now called Gehennom)
* Moloch
* Three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Death, Famine, and Pestilence (in conversation with these three, and in the sourcecode, the role of War is implied to have been assumed by the player)
* The invocation ritual ("Bell, book, and candle") is loosely connected to the Catholic excommunication ceremony
Mesoamerican
* couatl or coatl is the nahuatl name for snakes
* The archeologist pantheon: Quetzalcoatl, Camaxtli and Huhetotl (a variant spelling of Huehueteotl)
* xans are named after the mosquito from Popol Vuh
Norse
* dwarf
* Mjollnir, the artifact war hammer
* The valkyrie class and pantheon: Tyr, Odin and Loki
* Lord Surtur
North American
* The cryptozoological sasquatch
Roman
* Demogorgon
* Dispater
* Geryon
* lemure
* manes
* Orcus
* The ranger pantheon: Mercury, Venus and Mars
Welsh
* Excalibur
* King Arthur
* The Cŵn Annwn
Fiction
NetHack draws on several fictional works, especially Dungeons & Dragons and the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, but also many other fantasy writers, some of which in turn were inspired by ancient myths.
Dungeons & Dragons
* Aleax
* gelatinous cube
* giant spider
* green slime
* hezrou
* Juiblex, the demon lord
* lich
* lurker above
* marilith
* mimic
* mind flayer
* nalfeshnee
* owlbear
* piercer
* pit fiend
* pyrolisk
* quasit
* rothé
* rust monster
* trapper
* umber hulk
* vrock
* winter wolf
* xorn
* Yeenoghu, the demon lord
Tolkien
* balrog
* barrow wight
* cram ration
* dwarvish/elven mithril coat
* Elbereth
* hobbit
* lembas wafer
* Mordor orc
* mumak
* Nazgûl
* Olog-hai
* orc
* Orcrist, the artifact weapon
* Sting, the artifact weapon
* The ranger class
* Uruk-hai
* warg
Poetry
* Jabberwocks and Vorpal Blade, the artifact sword, are from Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky"
* The Magic Mirror of Merlin is from Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene
* References to 'Maud' when the player characters lose their memory are inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Maud"
Literature
* Grayswandir, the artifact silver saber, is from Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber
* Stormbringer, the artifact runesword, is from the Elric fantasy fiction stories by Michael Moorcock
* The barbarian class and pantheon (Mitra, Crom, Set), Pelias, the Heart of Ahriman, and Thoth-Amon are related to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian novels
* The tourist class, pantheon (Blind Io, The Lady, Offler) and quest (with Twoflower) are based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld
* The rogue class pantheon (Issek of the Jug, Mog, Kos) is from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories.
* The crysknife is from Frank Herbert's Dune novel, and the "Long Worms" are based on Dunes sandworms, called Shai-Hulud
* The towel, the graffiti message "We apologize for the inconvenience", the dog-eared spellbook and several hallucination monsters are from Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
* The Eyes of the Overworld and sandestins are from Jack Vance's Dying Earth books
* The graffiti messages "A.S. ->" and "<- A.S." are references to Journey to the Center of the Earth
* A player who has become invisible can wear a "mummy wrapping" in order to become visible again, a reference to the opening scene of H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man
* A hatching dragon makes a cry of "Gleep!"—a reference to the dragon Gleep from MythAdventures
Film and television
* The archeologist class (starting with fedora, leather jacket and bullwhip) is based on Indiana Jones movie character
* gremlins appear with their unique characteristics as portrayed in the 1984 movie Gremlins
* grid bugs are from the 1982 movie Tron
* The save and exit message "Be seeing you..." is from The Prisoner
* The Keystone Kops from early silent films appear as the game's police force
Video games
* The Wizard of Yendor first appeared in NetHack's predecessor, Hack
* The wumpus is from the computer game Hunt the Wumpus
* The brass lantern, the fortune cookie message "The magic word is XYZZY" and the graffiti message "You won't get it up the steps" are references to Adventure
* The 'Sokoban' levels are a tribute to the Japanese computer game of the same name
* NetHacks currency, the zorkmid, is from the computer game Zork
Other
* Snickersnee, the artifact katana, is from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado
* The graffiti message "notary sojak" is a reference to Smokey Stover
* Eating tinned spinach produces the message "This makes you feel like Popeye!"
* The Quantum Mechanic monster may drop a box containing Schrödinger's cat
Reality
Some characters and monsters are based on historical reality:
* Ashikaga Takauji
* baluchitherium
* Croesus
* Hippocrates
* killer bee
* Lord Carnarvon
* mastodon
* Oracle of Delphi
* queen bee
* titanothere
* Vlad the Impaler