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In Dalaran's Legerdemain Lounge, a human named Roscoe and a blood elf named Rachele sit across from each other on the coffee shop's centre couches, a clear stand-in for Ross and Rachel from Friends. Rachele will occasionally wonder aloud where 'Phoe'be' has got to.
In September 2005, a debuff meant to stay contained to a single raid boss, Hakkar the Soulflayer, escaped into the wider world through infected pets. The resulting outbreak spread through capital cities so effectively that epidemiologists later studied it as a real model for how populations react to disease.
First appearing in Zul'Aman, this human archaeologist wears the trademark hat, carries a whip, and even complains about a fear of snakes and rats. He later became Stormwind's archaeology trainer and stars in one of Uldum's most memorable quest chains.
Down on Ashran's Stormshield hub is an NPC named Zaalendor, who strikes three signature modelling poses, Azure Steel, Le Talbuk, and Magnuum, direct nods to Derek Zoolander's Blue Steel, Le Tigre, and Magnum.
Use the /chicken emote on a chicken enough times and it'll get fed up and offer you a quest, 'CLUCK!' Buy Special Chicken Feed from a nearby farmer, hand it over, and you're rewarded with a summonable chicken companion, one of the game's oldest and strangest vanity pets.
Camel figurines scattered across Uldum usually just crumble to dust when examined, but rarely one will teleport you to a hidden area called the Steam Pools. There you'll face a huge ettin, Dormus, who drops the Reins of the Grey Riding Camel mount and a matching title if defeated.
Peer into the cockpit of any Goblin Shredder and you'll spot a small image of Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades from StarCraft, glowing on the control panel. The Sky Golem mount, which shares the Shredder's design, updates the picture to her StarCraft II appearance.
On a hill southwest of Crossroads in the Barrens sits a small shrine dedicated to an orc marked only with the initials 'M-K.' It honours Michel Koiter, a Blizzard illustrator who passed away during the game's development, a spirit healer named Koiter can be found nearby.
In Grizzly Hills you can find a young deer named Bambina wandering with a rabbit (Thudder) and a skunk (Flora), a clear Bambi reference. Wait around and a scripted hunter appears to shoot Bambina's mother, sending the fawn into a berserk, 2,000%-damage rage.
Tucked near Dalaran's Antonidas Memorial is an ethereal vendor called Xur'ios, who deals exclusively in Curious Coins. It's a direct homage to Destiny's Xur, right down to selling items named after that game's gear, like 'Gjallar's Horn' and 'Krota's Shield.'
