After the tumultuous first few minutes, the episode cuts back in time to Walt waking up in bed and exercising on a pathetic little Stairmaster in his house before breakfast. On the wall of his makeshift exercise room is a small plaque that only appears for a brief moment, but more savvy viewers will realize just how important it is to the story as a whole.
The plaque reads "Walter H White, Crystallography Project Leader for Proton Radiography, 1985" –- and in a much smaller note below, "contributor to research awarded the Nobel Prize." The note at the bottom is the really important part, as we later discover that the whole reason for Walt's unsatisfactory job as a school teacher is because he took a $5000 buyout from the company Gray Matter Technologies, which he started with his friends Elliot (Adam Godley) and Gretchen (Jessica Hecht).
The company went on to become a multi-billion dollar company, and Walt was all but forgotten as an early investor. The plaque is just another reinforcement of how Walter has never truly felt appreciated for his work, listed as only a "contributor" to a Nobel Prize, and gives fans a bit more insight into why he might turn to a life of crime for a shot at recognition.
