21 Awesome Facts You Probably Didn't Know About "Parks And Recreation"

LESLIE AND RON MAKE OUT EVERY SEASON.

1. Andy Dwyer wasn't supposed to be on the show beyond Season 1.

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He was supposed to be on the show just as "Ann's annoying boyfriend," but Chris Pratt played him with such enthusiasm that the producers kept him.

2. Aziz Ansari actually attended business school before he was Tom Haverford.

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He started doing stand-up while he was a student at New York University's Stern School of Business, and says he didn't even aspire to be a Hollywood star of any sort. He was just having fun.

3. Jim O'Heir originally auditioned for the part of Ron Swanson.

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The producers always had someone more like Nick Offerman in mind (could you imagine any other Ron Swanson?!), but they loved O'Heir so much that they kept him on the show "just to see how it would play out."

4. Amy Poehler's favorite improvised scene was when Chris Pratt re-enacted "Road House."

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In the script for the episode, Michael Schur says all Pratt's part read was: "Pratt talks about 'Road House.'"

5. Like Ron Swanson, Nick Offerman actually has his own wood shop.

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You can actually visit the shop's site, where there's everything from handcrafted tables to canoes.

6. Jean-Ralphio was almost one of Leslie's love interests.

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Ben Schwartz, who plays Tom's hilarious business partner, said he once had a meeting to discuss the possibility, but the producers then decided he was too young.

7. Any maps of Pawnee are based off an actual place: Christchurch, New Zealand.

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Someone actually took clues from the producers to figure this out. Roads and parks were just renamed — for example, Ramsett Park in Pawnee is actually Hagley Park in Christchurch. Pretty awesome, right?

8. Aubrey Plaza seriously loves Judy Garland.

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She says she's been obsessed since she "was 10," and NOT with Wizard of Oz Judy, but '60s Judy.

9. The outer shots of Pawnee City Hall are actually of City Hall in Pasadena, California.

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Beautiful, ain't it?

10. Amy Poehler has an obsession with fake food.

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You read that right — from plastic pieces of sushi to crocheted cupcakes. She says she even has a sleeping bag shaped like a piece of pizza.

11. The show was originally meant to be a spin-off of The Office.

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This may be one of the widely known fun facts, but after throwing some ideas around, producers ultimately decided to make Parks and Recreation its "own entity."

12. Both Nick Offerman and Adam Scott originally auditioned for the role of Mark Brendanawicz.

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However, the producers wanted someone more "handsome." (OK, but seriously, we know how handsome Ron Swanson and Ben Wyatt are too.)

13. The frequent mention of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is no coincidence.

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The show's co-creator, Michael Schur, is from Ann Arbor, the town that Ann and Chris move to in Season 5. Pawnee was also founded in 1817, the same year the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor was founded.

14. Nick Offerman is actually a skilled saxophone player, just like Duke Silver.

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"I've played a saxophone my whole life, and they didn't know that when they wrote the story about Duke Silver," says Offerman.

15. Octavia Spencer auditioned for the role of Donna Meagle.

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This talented woman (whom you may know from The Help, Being John Malkovich, etc.) would have been fabulous, but can you imagine anyone else playing Donna like Retta does?

16. Aubrey Plaza says she draws a lot of inspiration for April from her younger sister.

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You've seen her several times as an "annoyed teenager," but she says she isn't sick of it, and you can thank her younger sister Natalie (who, yes, has the same name as her younger sister in Parks.)

17. Manly man Nick Offerman actually owns two poodles.

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He and his wife, Megan Mullally, have two toy poodles that they are very much in love with.

18. Amy's nickname for Rob Lowe is "RoLo."

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And he loves it, according to her book, Yes Please.

19. Ryan Gosling tried to ask Aubrey Plaza on a date.

Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision / AP

Apparently, the first time, she didn't recognize him. The second time, he tried inviting her to a magic show, but she had a charity event to attend.

20. Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman make out every season.

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Amy once said, "there's a scene created every year for the gag reel," but Michael Schur has also added that it is "super disgusting" to watch, so it's never included.

21. And finally, there's actually an explanation as to why Jerry/Gary/Larry/Terry has such a perfect family.

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Turns out the entire cast loves Jim O'Heir (who plays Jerry) in real life, so "giving him the perfect wife and beautiful kids" was the only way the cast could "cope" with treating him so poorly on set.

PARKS AND REC FOREVER. <3

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