Random Things You Didn't Know About Parks and Recreation (21 items)

(#17) Pawnee City Hall Is the Pasadena City Hall
Pawnee, IN, does not exist, but Pasadena, CA, does. The Los Angeles-adjacent city is also home to an iconic city hall building, which serves as the exterior for Pawnee's City Hall, one of the show's main locations.

Source: Los Angeles Magazine
(#8) Nick Offerman and Aubrey Plaza Have Something in Common

These two fan favorites, who star as Ron Swanson and April Ludgate, share a birthday!
Source: IMDb
(#1) Nick Offerman Really Does Run a Woodworking Business

Nick Offerman is not stretching his range very much when he discusses woodwork on several episodes of Parks and Rec. In fact, it's Offerman's own hobby, and actually a business that he runs on the side. This inspired the writers to turn Ron Swanson into a wood aficionado.

Offerman has talked about this on CONAN as well as in his book.
(#5) Nick Offerman's Favorite Guest Star is Tammy Two

Which is a good thing, because she's played by Megan Mullally, Offerman's real-life wife.
Source: Indiewire
(#14) The Sweetums Explosion Was Based on a True Story
That Sweetums giant molasses vat explosion Ben mentions in Season 5 was based on the Great Molasses Flood of 1919, which took place in Boston, MA. After a tank at a North End factory busted its rivets, molasses began flowing (at speeds up to 35 miles per hour!) into the streets.
(#13) Ryan Gosling Might Have a Crush on Aubrey Plaza

Plaza has reportedly shot down everyone's pretend boyfriend more than once. The first time was at a Jamba Juice, when she supposedly didn't recognize him, and the second time when he invited her to a magic show(!).

She couldn't go because she already had plans to attend a charity event for Amy Poehler.

Source: Jezebel