In a case of art imitating life, the small Connecticut town where the Newman/Woodwards live(d) did in fact have an underground Nike missile site during the Cold War. The town's middle school now sits above the former silos.
"Boojum" is a term coined by Lewis Carroll, and first appeared in his poem, "The Hunting of the Snark". The "Snark" (SM-62) was a surface-to-surface missile (a large cruise missile) used by the U.S. Military. Given the presence of a missile base in this movie, it is likely that the term "Boojum" was used to make the connection with the real missile.
Dwayne Hickman (Grady Metcalf) and Tuesday Weld (Comfort Goodpasture) were cast together again, a few months after this movie premiered, on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959), also based on Max Shulman's stories. Hickman played the series' title character, while Weld had a recurring role as "Thalia Menninger". The television series was produced by Twentieth Century Fox, which also made this movie.
Fox Studios and director Leo McCarey wanted Jayne Mansfield for the part of Angela but Newman & Woodward believed that Mansfield was far too tarty and obvious and believed the character should have a touch of class and an impish sense of humor insisting that their friend Joan Collins be cast in the role.
This is one of a very few movies that starred an actor and an actress who were married to each other, and who each won an Academy Award for acting. Joanne Woodward for The Three Faces of Eve (1957) and Paul Newman for The Color of Money (1986).