History Fridge / Fallout3

* The necessity for Project Purity is often questioned - however, there is no apparent farming infrastructure compared to the West Coast. [[GaiasLament The soil and ground water]] were either intentionally salted by low yield dirty bombs, or contaminated by the Vault 87 FEV. If you could de-contaminate an entire river, [[HopeSproutsEternal you'd restart the area's ecosystem]].

* Some people complained about the stereotypical 'little green men' aliens (Mothership Zeta DLC), and their equally stereotypical technology. But ''Fallout'' is set in a fifties stasis. And back in the fifties, that's what people thought aliens were like, so their design is keeping in perfectly with the setting.

** Alternatively, the song represents the Lone Wanderer's desire to return to their in game home -either the shack in Megaton or the suite at Tenoenny Tower. Both are places you can safely retreat to after the day's action, both can be customized to your tastes, both give you the chance to sleep well-rested as well as the availability of commerce options nearby. In every way, those places are much more of a home to the Lone Wanderer than Vault 101 ever was.
* President Eden's plan was to release FEV to exterminate the mutated inhabitants of the Wasteland, when President Richardson's plan in ''Fallout 2'' was... to release FEV to exterminate the mutated inhabitants of the Wasteland. It seems like lazy writing. But Eden is a computer, who contains all the records of the presidents of the US, from Washington to Richardson. He would have known all about Richardson's plan, and being a computer, he's completely lacking in imagination. It's not lazy writing to have him aping Richardson's idea, it's positively brilliant. Especially if you stop and consider that the plan technically wasn't flawed and failed because of just one OneManArmy grandchild of a regional hero, something that [[TemptingFate shouldn't happen in D.C.]]
* Littlehorn and Associates... who would be so evil as to hire people to kill others? The Enclave is paying Daniel Littleton to hire anyone merciless enough to hunt down others since life is cheap and microfusion cells are better spent on abominations than on pathetic sacks of meat.

* The Capital Wasteland seems to have more bandits than people. Where did they all come from and who are they, precisely, raiding. Well, there's numerous Vaults with particularly sadistic mind-control experiments going on. Likewise, just because there's very few settlements '''now''' doesn't mean that was always the case. It's quite possible the raiders have destroyed most of the Capital Wasteland's inhabitants and are working on the last of them.

* The Yao Guai are ordinarily [[BearsAreBadNews sudden, silent face-ripping death]], but if you have Animal Friend and thus the leisure to watch them 'at rest' it's pretty apparent that their mutation is extremely painful to them. No wonder they lash out at everything!
* Why are the Outcasts listed as "evil"? Well to the rest of the Wasteland, they probably are seen as evil. After all, the Brotherhood they're used to are generally kind and altruistic (By Wasteland standards anyway) while the Outcasts are scornful to every wastelander they see, and the people at large probably fear them because of their attitude and potent technology.

* At the end of Broken Steel, the purifier is already providing clean water to the wasteland. Go to the river near Jefferson Memorial and one will notice the mirelurks are near death. Why? Because the purifier cleans EVERYTHING, not just radiation, so the water becomes fresh for humans to drink. Mirelurks are based on horseshoe crabs, marine animals that need seawater to live. The freshwater is killing them in the process.
* Some people didn't like that the Lone Wanderer can not side with the Enclave. But why would (s)he, given the faction prompted James to take his own life?
** [[AntagonisticOffspring They might if they hated their father.]]

* In ''The Adventures of Herbert "Daring" Dashwood'' radio show, the ghoul [[https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Argyle Argyle]] is described as a master in kung-fu. You actually can find Argyle's corpse ingame, and according to his stats, his Unarmed skill is decent yet average (59, which is slightly lower than his Small Guns score; both are his tagged skills). It's not necessarily GameplayAndStorySegregation, since the real Herbert Dashwood states this radio show isn't entirely accurate and portrays Argyle as an HyperCompetentSidekick who regularly has to save him, which was CharacterExaggeration.
* In Pinkerton's hideout under Rivet City, among other things you can find a lunchbox, caps, a sensor module, and a cherry bomb, which are the components needed to craft a bottlecap mine, one of the best trap/weapon that can be crafted ingame. The hideout also includes a workbench (the mean ingame to craft said item). Since Pinkerton lives in an abandoned section of Rivet City, in the middle of corridors inhabited by hostile creatures, and the entrance to his room is trapped, he probably intended to craft the bottlecap mine himself as part of the defences of his hideout.

* Most of the places you can find the Chinese Spec. Ops Training Manuals are places that would logically hold some interest for foreign intelligence agencies such as Military installations, industrial centers, the Capitol building, and a hotel right around the corner from the White House which is implied to have regularly been used by the wealthy to meet up with {{High Class Call Girl}}s (and thus an excellent place to get blackmail on politicians.)

* Timmy seems to be Betty's ButtMonkey. If you talk to him (and not tease him or try to make him cry) he tells you that Betty's not very nice. The others in the simulation (besides Ms. Dithers) don't even seem to be aware of her. Was he singled out for any particular reason? Also, you might overhear a conversation between Timmy's mother and a neighbor that she doesn't want Mrs. Dithers talking to Timmy anymore. Whether it's because he's a child or not, he might be more willing to listen to Mrs. Dithers than the other residents and might be more clued in on what is happening, though that revelation routinely gets erased.
* According to the Project Purity journals, Catherine kept working hard on the project even during her pregnancy, refusing to get more rest despite James' attempts to reason with her. This may have contributed to her eventual DeathByChildbirth's fate at the start of the game.
* The MushroomSamba sequence of ''Point Lookout'' consists in a fragmented TheReasonYouSuckSpeech (through the text of the fake Bobbleheads), as well as encounters with corpses of people the Lone Wanderer knew (Catherine, Moira Brown, Elder Lyons). Since hallucinations are influenced by the subject's background, the fact the Lone Wanderer's trip turns into self-loathing highlights that the Lone Wanderer's probably isn't a very happy person. Of course, that's not very surprising considering the series of trauma (not having known their mother, being expelled from the place they considered as their home, then seeing James dying in front of them)[[note]]''Point Lookout'' is unlocked right when the player character leaves Vault 101, but the plot of the main quest's first half being a race to find James, ''Point Lookout'' obviously is supposed to happen later[[/note]] the Lone Wanderer suffered before and during the game.

!!FridgeLogic:

** It's entirely possible that Myron, lying ass he is, merely rediscovered Jet after the knowledge to produce it in the Pre-War way was lost. Though the theory's not endorsed by Bethesda, it's definitely in line with his character... but it IS an obvious retcon since Jet was never stated to be Pre-War in either ''1'' nor ''2''.

** This doubles as FridgeHorror as given the personality of Mrs Dithers, this is potentially less a case of ''her real memories resurfacing'' and more a case of ''she has been left with serious brain damage.'' And even worse, given how Braun can change your sex whilst you are within Tranquillity Lane, it is also possible that Mrs Dithers was once a male security guard named Harkness. Just try and imagine that, waking up one morning in the body of an old woman knowing that the world around you is a lie but no longer having the mental ability to work out what to do about it.

* Several of the places you can find the Chinese Spec. Ops Training Manuals are places that would logically have some spy activity, such as Military installations, the Capitol building, and a hotel right around the corner from the White House.

** Similar to "Maybe" in ''Fallout 1'', listen to "Way Back Home's" lyrics. Fitting to the Lone Wanderer's banishment from Vault 101, his former home, after either peacefully and violently fixing the chaos.

* In the opening scene of Fallout 3, with the nuclear devastation, and that opening song involving not wanting to set the world on fire, and only wanting to start a fire in your lover's heart. Now compare that to John Henry Eden, who speaks of his country that he loves so much, even referring to it as his "dear, sweet America," and who says he wants to reach out into you, the listener's, heart. Now, remember that Eden is an amalgam of the personalities of dozens of Presidents, including the warmongering ones who triggered the nuclear war with China. And note Eden's long-term goals. They may not have wanted to set the world on fire, but....

* Some people complained about the stereotypical 'little green men' aliens (Mothership Zeta DLC), and their equally stereotypical technology. But Fallout is set in a fifties stasis. And back in the fifties, that's what people thought aliens were like, so their design is keeping in perfectly with the setting.
* The Pitt is quite possibly the single most uninhabitable place in the Fallout universe - And that's saying something. Why is this? In the 50s, Pittsburg was so polluted, and the smog so thick, it was not uncommon to have streetlights on during the day. It's since improved in the real world, but Fallout's US never advanced culturally past the 50s. The air and environment of the city continuously got worse until the day the bombs hit... It may have degenerated further with radiation, but Pittsburgh was almost entirely toxic to start with.

** Similar to "Maybe" in Fallout 1, listen to "Way Back Home's" lyrics. Fitting to the Lone Wanderer's banishment from Vault 101, his former home, after either peacefully and violently fixing the chaos.

* President Eden's plan was to release FEV to exterminate the mutated inhabitants of the Wasteland, when President Richardson's plan in Fallout 2 was... to release FEV to exterminate the mutated inhabitants of the Wasteland. It seems like lazy writing. But Eden is a computer, who contains all the records of the presidents of the US, from Washington to Richardson. He would have known all about Richardson's plan, and being a computer, he's completely lacking in imagination. It's not lazy writing to have him aping Richardson's idea, it's positively brilliant. Especially if you stop and consider that the plan technically wasn't flawed and failed because of just one OneManArmy grandchild of a regional hero, something that [[TemptingFate shouldn't happen in D.C.]]

* Many people note [[BoomerangBigot the hypocrisy of an African-American like Eulogy Jones leading the Slaver faction]] - however, Jones' philosophy of MightMakesRight (with the slaves being slaves because of weakness, rather than racial inferiority) is reminiscent of African warlords who enslaved those who were captured during wars with other tribes - and since Jones and the Slavers sell off their slaves to other factions and individuals for the right price, this is also reminiscent of the warlords selling off their slaves to the Europeans during the colonial era.

* Why do the Raiders decorate their bases with fresh corpses on hooks? Well, there's no farmland around so, oh, well, that [[ImAHumanitarian explains it]]. Of course, killing and eating other human beings isn't sustainable as a long-term solution for hunger but since when has that stopped psychopathic killers? It also explains why they attack first and always. They're hungry!
* The Capital Wasteland seems to have more bandits than people. Where did they all come from and who are they, precisely, raiding. Well, there's numerous Vaults with particularly sadistic mind-control experiments going on. Likewise, just because there's very few settlements '''now''' doesn't mean that was always the case. It's quite possible the Raiders have destroyed most of the Capital Wasteland's inhabitants and are working on the last of them.
** In addition, the association between Raiders, Slavers, and the Pitt also may explain why there are so many Raiders out there. It's entirely possible that many of the Capital Wasteland raiders were from the Pitt and got their brains half-fried thanks to the TDC.

* When using the Chinese Assault Rifle, one will notice that the weapon degrades faster then the regular Assault Rifle. One common trait noted of the AK is how reliable and durable the weapon is. So why does the Chinese Assault Rifle degrade faster? It actually reflects Soviet/Communist supply doctrine. You see, to the Communist forces, weapons are used until they breakdown. Afterwards, they are replaced. This is opposite of Western Doctrine, in that weapons are repaired when they break down. The two types of assault rifles represent this. The Chinese Assault Rifle is expected to be replaced once broken, while the regular Assault Rifle is expected to last.

* Some people didn't like that the Lone Wanderer can not side with the Enclave. But why would he/she? They were responsible for James' death.

** It's entirely possible that Myron, lying ass he is, merely rediscovered Jet after the knowledge to produce it in the Pre-War way was lost. Though the theory's not endorsed by Bethesda, it's definitely in line with his character... but it IS an obvious retcon since Jet was never stated to be Pre-War in either 1 and 2.

* The way randomized loot works in the game can lead to the player finding Jet in one of the sealed Vaults, despite the fact that Jet wasn't invented until decades ''after'' the war.

* The necessity for Project Purity is often questioned - however, there is no apparent farming infrastructure compared to the West Coast. The soil and ground water were either intentionally salted by low yield dirty bombs, or contaminated by the Vault 87 FEV. If you could de-contaminate an entire river, you'd restart the area's ecosystem.

!!FridgeBrilliance:

!!FridgeHorror:

* Wernher not allowing you to bring your companions to the Pitt actually makes a lot of sense if you think about it. The Pitt is way more guarded and reinforced than Paradise Falls or the Lincoln Memorial are, so shooting your way in is out of the question. You will have to infiltrate as a "slave" and then wreak havoc from the inside. A ghoul, super mutant, dog or robot seemingly following a slave everywhere would have attracted too much unwanted attention, while Jericho and Clover would have blown the Lone Wanderer's cover in a different way. Jericho most likely gained a lot of infamy among raiders for surviving as long as he did and then "retiring" from the life, so the Pitt raiders would have recognized him miles away and wondered why he is suddenly following this slave around. Clover is Eulogy's bodyguard, and since the Pitt gets most of its slaves from him, Ashur would have recognized her a long way off, probably conferred with Eulogy and the cover would have been compromised. Star Paladin Cross most likely would have also been recognized by Ashur as being Owyn Lyons' bodyguard, causing him to wonder what she is up to here. And last, not only Butch's usual cocky behaviour would make him not enough discreet to infiltrate the Pitt, but he lived a sheltered life for even longer than the Lone Wanderer, so he'd look even cleaner and healthier, so he'd even more stick out like a sore thumb among the other, diseased-looking slaves.

* Butch being such a JokeCharacter makes perfect sense in regard of his personality and his background: he's cocky, pretentious and overconfident, and he grew up and was raised in the most sheltered place of the DC Wasteland. He's the weakest companion of the game because he hadn't much occasions to train his survival skills before leaving the Vault (fighting against actual hostile enemies, differenciating hostile fauna from harmless critters, foraging...), and because his personality combined with his lack of experience of the outside world would result in him severely overestimate the danger of the Wasteland.

** Melee Weapons is in the Virulent Underchambers of Dunwich Building. Melee weapons are quite appropriate given the presence of ghouls and the classic Dungeons and Dragons RPG vibe.

** Alternatively, the song represents the Lone Wanderer's desire to return to their in game home -either the shack in Megaton or the suite at Tenoenny Tower. Both are places you can safely retreat to after the day's action, both can be customized to your tastes, both give you the chance to sleep well rested as well as the availability of commerce options nearby. In every way, those places are much more of a home to the Lone Wanderer than Vault 101 ever was.

** Melee Weapons is in the Virulent Underchambers of Dunwich Building. Melee weapons are quite appropriate given the presence of ghouls, and also the classic Dungeons and Dragons RPG vibe.

** This doubles as FridgeHorror as given the personality of Mrs Dithers, this is potentially less a case of ''her real memories resurfacing'' and more a case of ''she has been left with serious brain damage.'' And even worse, given how Braun can change your sex whilst you are within Tranquillity Lane, it is also possible that Mrs Dithers was once a security guard named Harkness. Just try and imagine that, waking up one morning in the body of an old woman knowing that the world around you is a lie but no longer having the mental ability to work out what to do about it.

* President Eden's plan was to release FEV to exterminate the mutated inhabitants of the Wasteland, when President Richardson's plan in Fallout 2 was... to release FEV to exterminate the mutated inhabitants of the Wasteland. It seems like lazy writing. But Eden is a computer, who contains all the records of the presidents of the US, from Washington to Richardson. He would have known all about Richardson's plan, and being a computer, he's completely lacking in imagination. It's not lazy writing to have him aping Richardson's idea, it's positively brilliant.]] Especially if you stop and consider that the plan technically wasn't flawed and failed because of just one OneManArmy grandchild of a regional hero, something that [[TemptingFate shouldn't happen in D.C.

* In the opening scene of Fallout 3, with the nuclear devastation, and that opening song involving not wanting to set the world on fire, and only wanting to start a fire in your lover's heart. Now compare that to John Henry Eden, who speaks of his country that he loves so much, even referring to it as his "dear, sweet America," and who says he wants to reach out into you, the listener's, heart. Now, remember that [[spoiler: Eden is an amalgam of the personalities of dozens of Presidents, including the warmongering ones who triggered the nuclear war with China.]] And note Eden's long-term goals. They may not have wanted to set the world on fire, but....

** Similar to "Maybe" in Fallout 1, listen to "Way Back Home's" lyrics. Fitting to [[spoiler:the Lone Wanderer's banishment from Vault 101, his former home, after either peacefully and violently fixing the chaos.]]

* [[spoiler:President Eden's plan was to release FEV to exterminate the mutated inhabitants of the Wasteland, when President Richardson's plan in Fallout 2 was... to release FEV to exterminate the mutated inhabitants of the Wasteland. It seems like lazy writing. But Eden is a computer, who contains all the records of the presidents of the US, from Washington to Richardson. He would have known all about Richardson's plan, and being a computer, he's completely lacking in imagination. It's not lazy writing to have him aping Richardson's idea, it's positively brilliant.]] Especially if you stop and consider that the plan technically wasn't flawed and failed because of just one OneManArmy grandchild of a regional hero, something that [[TemptingFate shouldn't happen in D.C]].

* At the end of Broken Steel, you have the option to [[spoiler:fire a KillSat on the Brotherhood's base. Now, why didn't the Enclave did this before? Because it's the Pentagon, one of the symbols of the Old World and of America's power. It would be far too valuable as a symbol if they can re-take it. Of course they wouldn't fire on it]].

* Some people didn't like that the Lone Wanderer can not side with the Enclave. But why would he/she? They were responsible for [[spoiler: James' death]].

* Wernher not allowing you to bring your companions to the Pitt actually makes a lot of sense if you think about it. The Pitt is way more guarded and reinforced than Paradise Falls or the Lincoln Memorial are, so shooting your way in is out of the question. You will have to infiltrate as a "slave" and then wreak havoc from the inside. A ghoul, super mutant, dog or robot seemingly following a slave everywhere would have attracted too much unwanted attention, while Jericho and Clover would have blown the Lone Wanderer's cover in a different way. Jericho most likely gained a lot of infamy among raiders for surviving as long as he did and then "retiring" from the life, so the Pitt raiders would have recognized him miles away and wondered why he is suddenly following this slave around. Clover is Eulogy's bodyguard, and since the Pitt gets most of its slaves from him, Ashur would have recognized her a long way off, probably conferred with Eulogy and the cover would have been compromised. Star Paladin Cross most likely would have also been recognized by Ashur as being Owyn Lyons' bodyguard, causing him to wonder what she is up to here.

* Timmy seems to be Betty's ButtMonkey. If you talk to him (and not tease him or try to make him cry) he tells you that Betty's not very nice. The others in the simulation (besides Ms. Dithers) don't even seem to be aware of her. Was he singled out for any particular reason? Also, you might overhear a conversation between Timmy's mother and a neighbor that she doesn't want Mrs. Dithers talking to Timmy anymore. Whether it's because he's a child or not, he might be more willing to listen to Mrs. Dithers than the other residents and might be more clued in on what is happening, though that revelation eventually gets erased.

* Exploring Vault 112 and Tranquility Lane raises a number of very disturbing implications regarding the inhabitants - specifically, their age: all of the residents in the Tranquility Loungers appear to be adults, despite the fact that in Tranquility Lane, one of them is a child. Then, it's revealed that Braun can control the appearance of his captives within the simulation, and Dithers actually states that little Timmy Neusbaum is "not really a boy". So... just how many times in the last couple of centuries has Braun transformed people for his own amusement? Does ''anyone'' in the Vault retain their original appearance? Was Dithers elderly when she entered the vault, or did Braun transform her into an old woman for his own sick amusement?