While Steve is researching a paper on George Washington Carver for Black History Month, he uncovers a conspiracy that dates back to the Civil War. Meanwhile, Hayley and Roger play Jenga, with the latter taking forever to make his move.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – Space: Steve describes Io, "the ice moon of Jupiter," as being his favorite thing in the solar system. Io is covered in volcanos, while Europa has ice.
- Bait-and-Switch: Stan explains that President Cleveland came up with an ingenious way to leave peanut butter for George Washington Carver and have him take the credit. He left a jar on his doormat, rang the bell, and drove off.
- The Conspiracy: Peanut butter was created by Mary Todd Lincoln, and President Lincoln wished to use it to help bring the South back into the Union by claiming that a black man invented it. However, upon his assassination, the plan was dropped until Grover Cleveland left a jar of peanut butter on George Washington Carver's doorstep, letting him get the credit.
- Emerging from the Shadows: Throughout the episode, Stan and Steve are trailed by a ranking member of the conspiracy. In the cave, it's revealed to be Jimmy Carter, the "second President Peanut."
- Epic Fail: Steve manages to trick Stan by swapping a peanut butter jar for the "jar of proof" in his backpack. When they're cornered by President Carter, Stan is won over by his son and gives a reassuring wink as he hands over the bag, which apparently contains the jar. It seems that Stan switched out the jars...until it's revealed he still has the peanut butter jar and the "jar of proof" was lost when Carter fell into the lava. Apparently Stan thought it was a "magic bag" that would switch out the jars for him.
- Hypocritical Humor:
- Roger takes several days to determine his move at Jenga, including creating a second tower and hiring an engineer to plot out possible moves. Once he finally does move, he yells at Hayley when she hesitates for a moment to move.
- In the scene immediately before, Steve reads an old newspaper with a The Katzenjammer Kids strip,
says the dad getting hurt isn't funny at all and muses how much comedy has evolved in a hundred years. This is said while his own father is comedically, and painfully, plummeting down through several flights of rickety wooden stairs.
- The Illuminati: The conspiracy is called the Illuminuti, which guards the secret history of peanut butter... which is actually much more meaningful than it sounds. Specifically, it was an accidental invention of Mary Todd Lincoln, and Abraham Lincoln plotted to credit it to an African-American man in order to ease post-Civil War race relations. When he was murdered, the plot stalled until it fell into the hands of Grover Cleveland, who completed it by passing credit onto George Washington Carver
.note Not only do the Illuminuti guard this secret, they're also searching for a legendary "jar of proof" — the sole remaining evidence that proved it was not a black man's invention — in order to destroy it, as they fear the truth getting out will send America into racial chaos and hatred not seen since the Civil War. - I Never Said It Was Poison: Spoofed. Steve arrives at the museum to find that the curator was murdered, and a detective becomes suspicious of him when he mentions details that are visible at the crime scene.Detective: I'm afraid the curator has been murdered.
Steve: Oh my God, someone killed him?!
Detective: Funny, I never said he was murdered.
Steve: Yes... yes, you did. God, he's wedged into the mouth of a giant bust of George Washington Carver!
Detective: That's classified, how do you know that?
Steve: Uh, I can see it from here.
[the detective takes half a minute confirming that the body is visible from where Steve is standing]
Detective: Okay, that checks out. - The Load: Stan is completely unhelpful during the quest to find the jar of truth. However, Steve later finds he's actually part of the conspiracy, so this foolishness was actually Stan's attempt at misdirection.
- Loophole Abuse: To determine his move, Roger creates a second Jenga tower, which promptly collapses. He says he called Hasbro, who said that doing so violated the spirit of the game but not the actual rules.
- Noodle Incident: Snot bails out on investigating the mysterious symbol on peanut butter jars because of the time his investigation into a missing bike horn turned into a double rape-homicide.
- Overly Long Gag: Stan falling down the flights of stairways as Steve rides down on the elevator. Turns into Funny Background Event as Steve focuses on the funnies in the 1916 newspaper.
- Product Placement: Steve and Stan decipher the map at a Burger King. Steve actually wonders why they're there, and Stan replies that the "economics of television have changed," before looking at the camera and begrudgingly saying "Have it your way."
- Running Gag: The mysterious old man watching Steve's adventure and crushing peanuts in frustration as he makes progress. Turns out it's Jimmy Carter.
- Shown Their Work: While the conspiracy is entirely fictional, the episode is correct that George Washington Carver didn't actually invent peanut butter despite his hundreds of other inventions for peanuts.note
- Suddenly Shouting: Steve continually does this throughout the episode, much to Stan's frustration.
- Whole-Plot Reference: To National Treasure, involving a conspiracy around American history, also including elements from The Da Vinci Code and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
