Parks And Recreation Fans Can't Help But Mock This Small Ron Detail

Considering the sheer number of outlandish characters on NBC's "Parks and Recreation," it's somewhat surprising that deadpan department head Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) has established himself as one of the most iconic and beloved characters in the entire series. Ron, who you likely forgot was actually based on a real person, embodies a dozen or so hypermasculine stereotypes. He frequently emphasizes his love for meat, woodworking, whiskey, solitude, and the great outdoors. 

Part of what makes Ron so endearing is the way the show exaggerates these traits for the sake of comedy — especially when it comes to his love of American cuisine. Throughout the series, Ron is shown to be a great lover of breakfast food and various types of meat, to the point where he once ordered a waiter to bring him all of the bacon and eggs that the diner was carrying. Ron has also displayed a fanatical obsession with steakhouses, and said in the Season 2 episode "Sweetums," "The whole point of this country is if you wanna eat garbage, balloon up to 600 pounds, and die of a heart attack at 43, you can!"

Ron's love of American food is one of his most iconic character traits, which is perhaps why fans found a particular detail about the way he eats so hilarious.

During the Season 2 episode "Ron and Tammy," Ron Swanson and his second ex-wife Tammy Swanson (Megan Mullally) meet at a diner to try and work through their issues. In this particular scene, Ron is shown eating some french fries, and as pointed out by u/hartmanjunk on Reddit, he is salting each fry individually.

Considering what we already know about Ron's enthusiasm for clogging his own arteries, this tiny detail isn't exactly surprising, though fans still couldn't help but mock him for it. U/That_Highlight5587 wrote, "High blood pressure incoming!" Meanwhile, u/laziestmarxist added, "My dad used to do this. Health tip: don't do this." Additionally, u/lastwords87 replied, "I feel like Ron would probably die shortly after the show ends."

The absurdity of Ron's eating habits (including this unnecessary business with fries) is certainly not lost to actor Nick Offerman, who voiced his own opinion about Ron's diet during an interview with Eater Boston. "Ron Swanson is a fictional character, and as such, his digestive system maintains superpowers that I think would lay really any human flat on the ground, dead of clogged arteries," he explained.

You know Ron's eating habits must be pretty ridiculous when Offerman himself is throwing shade at them. Indeed, as absurd as it is to watch a grown man pour a mountain of salt onto a single fry, this tiny detail is still quite funny.