I remember that episode! I had an interesting conversation/argument once with a Chinese friend about all the poetic allusions in the Chinese language. He was just a bit chauvinistic and I was getting a bit bored with it, so I started rattling off examples of common allusions in English (which, of course, I have all forgotten now). I don't think I convinced him, but it was an interesting eye-opener to see just how much cultural norms shape the way we speak.