Parks and Rec: 10 Absurd Things About Pawnee

Parks and Recreation is set in the little fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. It has a brilliant cast and writers, fleshed-out main and supporting characters, and hilarious and heartwarming moments.

But without the quirky little town as the setting for all the madness, the show just wouldn’t be the same. Pawnee is Leslie Knope’s challenge, it’s a town she wants to improve no matter what. There are a lot of absurd things about it, some, viewers came to love, others, not so much.

10 The Raccoon Infestation

One of Pawnee’s biggest problems is its raccoon infestation. Leslie was born in Eagleton, the reason? Pawnee’s hospital was overrun with raccoons. Furthermore, during the season 2 episode “Christmas Scandal,” Ron Swanson mentions that the raccoons will hunt the children for sport if they aren’t removed.

Raccoons are generally known to be nocturnal animals but appear to be active even in the day in Pawnee. They are often shown in random scenes, hanging around inside Pawnee City Hall or abandoned buildings, usually for comedic effect due to their absurdity.

9 The Town Slogans

Pawnee has had some pretty strange slogans throughout the years: the cult-influenced slogan “Pawnee, engage with Zorp,” and the lie which got them sued, “Pawnee, birthplace of Julia Roberts,” leading to a slogan bragging about the lawsuit, being just two of the weirdest.

When the times comes to change it again, the simple online system gets hijacked when Crazy Ira and The Douche tell their listeners to vote for the write your own option “Welcome To Douche Nation.” So in good old Leslie fashion, it all led to a public forum where the passionate citizens of Pawnee shared their views. The new slogan? “Pawnee, when you’re here, then you’re home.”

8 The Fast Food Sizes

In the season 5 episode “Soda Tax,” Leslie passes a soda tax in the hopes of reducing obesity in Pawnee. The sizes of the sodas as shown in the episode: a small is 64 oz, regular is 128 oz, and the child size is 512 oz.

If someone wants less than a size small they have the option of the “little swallow,” a tiny gulps worth. When Leslie asks “how is this a child-sized soda?” Kathryn Pinewood responds “well, it’s roughly the size of a two-year-old child if the child were liquified.” This just shows the absurd lines of thinking often used by Pawnee residents.

7 The Laws

In the season 5 episode “Article Two,” viewers are given another insight into how out of date Pawnee’s laws are. From the racist law stating “any white citizen has the right to seize any Indian property for 25 cents,” to the sexist laws: women cannot raise their voice to a landowning male, and if they do, are punished with an egg to the face, and “all menstruating women will be confined to their bathtubs.”

Thankfully the town did not seem to uphold those laws in the present day, but that doesn’t make the fact they exist any less absurd or problematic.

6 The Media Personalities

Pawnee is full of colorful, quirky, weird characters, and the media is no exception to their influence. Joan Callamezzo, the host of Pawnee Today wasn’t one to shy away from making bold claims, loved her Gotcha Journalism, and wouldn’t let herself be taken off camera even when passed out.

Perd Hapley hosted Ya Heard? With Perd, Lights, Camera, Perd, The Perdples Court, and The Finale Word with Perd. He loved his puns and literal statements. And the radio show Crazy Ira And The Douche, which needs no explanation as to how obscene and ridiculous it was.

5 Their Love For Li’l Sebastian

Just as Pawnee had a shared hatred toward libraries and salads, they had a shared love for a miniature horse, to the point where outsiders disliking him created violent reactions. Even Ron Swanson, who cares for minimal things, sheds a tear for Li’l Sebastian.

Part of his obituary reads, “He was an animal, a legend, a friend. He was our beacon of light. He was Pawnee’s horse.” When Ben sees Li’l Sebastian, his reaction isn’t what Leslie expected. He’s the only one who seems to question the town’s obsession.

4 Their Feud With Eagleton

Pawnee and Eagleston don’t get along, at all. But Pawnee saved Eagleton despite the uproar it created in citizens from both towns. “Slamming Eagleton is the easiest way to score some points. Am I proud of it? Yes, because Eagleton sucks.”

Leslie was furious when she found out she was born in Eagleton, saying that Voldemort was probably born there. It didn’t help that her position on the city council was replaced by an Eagletonian.

3 How The Citizens Drink Water

The citizens of Pawnee are at it again. In the season 4 episode “Campaign Shake-Up,” a disgusting Pawnee quirk is revealed to the viewers. Every Pawnee citizen drinks from the public water fountains by placing their entire mouths onto the spout.

Luckily, April finds a solution to the problem by removing the splash guard from the fountain so there is nothing to put their mouths on.

2 How Pawneeans Treat Leslie

Leslie is a ray of honey sunshine; sweet, and a warm presence. She’s supportive, energetic, kind, encouraging, compassionate, feisty, and hardworking. She’s constantly trying to make Pawnee better but meets opposition at every turn.

The people of Pawnee treat her poorly, they even recall her from her position as councilwoman, but she sees people yelling at her as “caring loudly.” Ron tells her that she chose a thankless job, which is made evident throughout the series.

1 The Town’s History

The murals in Pawnee City Hall depict all kinds of horrible and strange things from the town’s past. From their extensive history of abuse towards the Wamapoke people, Eagleton parting ways with their less fortunate half, Pawnee citizens putting a Jewish man in a cage, Pawnee citizens burning a magician and his rabbit at the stake for witchcraft, the mural of a wedding which fused two cultures ending with only two survivors; horses.

In the pilot episode, Leslie tells Ann that the gruesome parts of the murals have to be covered because of children visiting the City Hall. Anne says that it is horrifying. Leslie’s response, “Yes, it is.” The absurdity of these things is that it seems that Pawnee, with exceptions like Leslie and Ann, seems proud to put these atrocities on display when in fact their town history isn’t anything to be proud of.

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