Quando Jared Dunn traz a mochila de Meinertzhagen no episódio 3 da 3ª temporada, "Meinertzhagen's Haversack", ele está se referindo ao Ruse da mochila como um gambito necessário para executar com sucesso o seu projeto skunkworks de continuar a trabalhar na plataforma de algoritmo de compressão do meio enquanto dando a aparência de trabalhar na caixa de hardware.
[Colonel Richard] Meinertzhagen's sources of information dwindled to the occasional prisoner caught out by patrols, and deserters. He is frequently credited with a surprise attack known as the Haversack Ruse in October 1917: during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, according to his diary, he let a haversack containing false British battle plans fall into Ottoman military hands, thereby bringing about the British victory in the Battle of Beersheba and Gaza.
The evidence was wrapped in paper used for sandwiches, and taken to General Kress von Kressenstein, who examined the pocket book and mused on its authenticity. According to an account by Turk Colonel Hussein Husni, Chief of Staff of 7th Army, Meinertzhagen's German-sounding name added to its genuine feel. Von Kressenstein wanted to believe it, which threw the staff into some confused arguments. The ideas of Allenby's general leave-time played on Turk preconceptions about the way British and Australians were thought to behave.
Tendo inventado completamente seus skunkworks, os meninos estão comemorando e Gilfoyle comenta:
Gilfoyle: I think I might actually enjoy going to work now.
Jared: Wait, we can't enjoy going to work. Meinertzhagen's Haversack.
Richard: What?
Jared: Meinertzhagen's Haversack. No one? Really? No one's heard of Meinertzhagen's Haversack?
Erlich: Of course I have, Jared. Just explain it to them.
Jared: Well, it's a principle of military deception. Essentially it means you have to continue to act the part. So, as far as anyone knows, we're still building a box that we hate. We need to act like it.
Essencialmente, o artifício de Haversack (que significa "sacola de pão" ou "sacola" em alemão) exige que, além de fornecer a Jack Barker informações falsas sobre o progresso na caixa, a equipe também continue agindo como se odiasse eles estão fazendo e mantendo o status quo de seu comportamento (e é também por isso que Dinesh tem que continuar usando sua corrente de ouro).
Dinesh: If we do anything differently, Barker's gonna be onto us. We have to keep complaining about Barker. We have to keep bitching about the box.
Gilfoyle: We have to keep making fun of your gold chain. We have to. We don't have any other choice.
Jared: He's right.
Erlich: It's a shame Bel Biv Dinesh, but unfortunately that chain is Poison.
Como o nome "Meinertzhagen" tocou bem para os turcos, também é engraçado quando Jared percebe a necessidade do truque adicional e o ouvimos deixar escapar a frase germânica. A partir da segunda temporada, ele é conhecido pelo público para falar alemão durante o sono: