Who Did It? Ryan Or Tom?

786 Shares

Parks and Recreation is the spiritual companion of The Office. They’re both workplace comedies on NBC shot in a mockumentary style, starring an ensemble cast of lovable characters who frequently talk to the camera. The Parks and Rec producers even considered making it an official spin-off of The Office in the early stages of development, but decided to branch off and carve out a niche of its own to make a wholly original show as soon as Saturday Night Live favorite Amy Poehler became available to play the lead.

While upbeat, bubbly feminist icon Leslie Knope is worlds apart from the hapless goof that is Michael Scott, there are certain comparisons that can be drawn between some of the rest of the cast. For starters, Parks and Rec has its very own Jim and Pam romance in Ann and Chris. Plus, Dunder Mifflin has Kevin Malone and the parks department of Pawnee has its own big, endearing, yet useless employee in Jerry Gergich (aka Larry, Barry, Gary, and Terry Gergich). But there is no Scranton/Pawnee counterpart as clear as Ryan Howard and Tom Haverford. They’re both ambitious, well-groomed entrepreneurs, and they’re both the douchiest guys in their respective workplaces. That’s why it can be hard to tell their antics apart on paper. Can you do it? Take this quiz to find out!

Question 1

Started a fire in the workplace

In an episode called “The Fire” written by the actor playing the character, either Ryan or Tom were in the middle of voicing their ambitions to start their own business when the fire alarm goes off. It eventually transpired that this character had started the fire themselves when they left a cheese pita in the toaster oven that was set to ‘oven’ instead of ‘toaster.’ This leads to a parody song in the workplace, “____ Started the Fire” based on the Billy Joel classic, and the nickname “Fire Guy” that lasted the rest of the series. Which of them was it?

Question 2

Listed these celebrities as his heroes: Tiger Woods, Vin Diesel, Michael Bolton, Flo Rida, Patrick Jane, Paul Walker, and Jamie Foxx

Both Tom and Ryan look up to various flashy celebrities for inspiration and motivation in their everyday life. These heroes are often the wrong people to look up to. They’re typically vain and overpaid Hollywood people, and some of them, yes, have achieved entrepreneurial success, but they’re still the wrong heroes for these guys. Anyway, which of them listed all of these guys as their heroes: Tiger Woods, Vin Diesel, Michael Bolton, Flo Rida, Patrick Jane, Paul Walker, and Jamie Foxx?

Question 3

Married a girl for her green card

One of these two characters married a girl from Canada so that she could get her green card (although this is not revealed to be the reason they are married until later on in the series), and when she gets her citizenship in the show’s second season, they get a divorce. But this character had started to develop feelings for his wife, and he was pretty heartbroken by the breakup and wanted to stay with her. But which of these two characters was it?

Question 4

Got blond highlights

For a short spell on their show, one of these two characters got blond highlights in his hair. He thought it looked cool at first, but it quickly became a subject of ridicule at the workplace. And rightly so, since his hair looked pretty awful with the blond streaks. He tried to claim that the blond color was “from the Sun,” but no one believed him. This is mostly because it was far too bright for that and they’re not stupid. So, was it Tom or Ryan who got blond highlights in their hair?

Question 5

Spends $200 on a haircut

When one of these characters started to find some success in business, he became a total douche. He became outspoken and abrasive and loud-mouthed. He grew his beard out to look ‘cooler’ and he bought fancier and more expensive suits. Oh, and he started spending $200 on each of his haircuts. Ridiculous. This new lifestyle led him down a dark path of partying with alcohol and drugs, but the most audacious thing is easily his $200 haircuts. Which character was it: Ryan or Tom?

Question 6

Wears red carpet insole

As a part of the incredibly egotistical nature of these two characters, one of them has lined his shoes with the red carpet material, so that whenever he walks anywhere, he feels like he’s walking on a red carpet. It’s ludicrously vain. It’s something that no one would do unless they were the overlord of the self-centered. As he explains to the camera, “Oh, what’s this in my shoe? Red carpet insole. Everywhere I go, I’m walking on red carpet.” Who was it?

Question 7

Invested in Snake Juice

Ryan and Tom are always looking for business opportunities. They are a pair of entrepreneurs with lofty ambitions to start the next big business. One of them had a business plan for their investment in a “high-end Kahlua-style liquer” called Snake Juice that didn’t pan out as he planned. By his own admission, Snake Juice is “basically rat poison,” but that didn’t stop him from pushing it on his friends. Which of them invested in the business of Snake Juice?

Question 8

Claims he can get any girl

These two characters, Ryan and Tom, are extremely vapid and deluded dudes. They both see themselves as P. Diddy style ladies’ men, when that description could actually not be any further from the truth. One of them once made the outrageous claim that he could get any girl that he wanted, and that claim goes very wide of the mark indeed. He can’t get any girl – he can barely get a girl at all! Which of these two characters was it?

Question 9

Got arrested for fraud

Was this Ryan or Tom? It was a serious moment in either The Office or Parks and Recreation when either Ryan or Tom was carted off by police and everyone in the workplace watched the video on the internet in disbelief, albeit finding it quite funny. He’d been committing fraud through one of his online business ventures, and it got him fired. But was it Ryan or Tom who got arrested for fraud and set off a huge chain of events that echoed throughout the rest of the series?

Question 10

Got forced to sit on Santa’s lap at Christmas

In one Christmas episode of either The Office or Parks and Rec titled “Secret Santa,” written by one member of the show’s cast, the workplace has a little Christmas party to celebrate the holidays. One of either Ryan or Tom suffered for his cuteness – it’s a gift and a curse – as, toward the end of the day, the boss pins him down and demands that he sit on his lap, which of course makes him uncomfortable. Which of them was it?

Question 11

Sentenced to use no social media by a judge

Either Tom or Ryan was once sentenced by a judge to spend a month using no social media or technology after he got into a car accident and tweeted, “Just hit a fire hydrant, but I survived. #Unbreakable #Whats Mr Glass up to these days? #Why no sequel?” By the way, that sequel is actually on the way now under the title Glass, and Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis are returning. This was tough, since both Ryan and Tom are very tech savvy guys. Which of them did this happen to?

Question 12

Invented DJ Roomba

One of our two characters, Ryan Howard and Tom Haverford, invented a DJ Roomba. Well, he didn’t so much invent it as modify it. See, Roomba is the little robot that drives around your apartment, cleaning it. You may remember it from Jesse’s place in Breaking Bad. But what this character did was turn it into DJ Roomba by mounting an iPod and docking station on top of it so you can listen to dope tunes while you have your apartment cleaned. Which one of them was it?

Question 13

Came from a temp agency

How exactly the various employees of Dunder Mifflin and the parks department of Pawnee wound up working there is always an interesting story. Ron Swanson has no belief in the importance of government and yet he works for them. Dwight Schrute had worked at a bunch of paper merchants and stationery companies before finally landing at Dunder Mifflin, and he also runs a farm and bed and breakfast on the side. And one of them came from a temp agency. Was it Ryan or Tom?

Question 14

Got a big promotion

One of these characters got a huge promotion during one of their story arcs that led to nothing but bad things. As he climbed the ladder at work, he got very full of himself and talked down to all of the people he used to work with. They never particularly liked him to begin with, but after his promotion turned him into a giant douche, they REALLY didn’t like him. But which of the two characters was it: Ryan or Tom?

Question 15

Made an action movie trailer to propose to his girlfriend

Both Tom and Ryan have found themselves in various serious romantic relationships over the years. At one point, one of them decided to propose to their girlfriend, and to do it, they made a kind of action movie trailer version of a proposal video. However, at the last minute, he decides not to use the action movie-type proposal trailer to ask her to marry him and instead recreates their first date for a more romantic and perfect proposal. Who was it: Ryan or Tom?

Question 16

Keeps a list of his enemies

After a staggering failure during one of his various, ill advised business endeavors, either Tom or Ryan was taken way, way down a notch and they were back to square one, back to clawing their way upwards. But still, he hadn’t lost any of his hope or ambition. He still believed that one day he would be back at the top, and when he was there, he would take down his enemies. So, he started keeping a list of anyone who had wronged him. Who was it?

Question 17

Treat yo’ self

Treat yo’ self! This is one of the most iconic and best remembered elements of the stories of either Parks and Rec or The Office. Treat yo’ self is an annual tradition of either Tom or Ryan and one of their friends from work. It’s a day that they set aside once a year to just spend money and treat themselves. Money is no object – you just have to spend a lot of it on things that you want. But which character holds this tradition: Ryan or Tom?

Question 18

Founded Entertainment 720

Either Tom or Ryan founded a company with one of their friends called Entertainment 720 and it was perhaps the worst idea for a business ever. It was envisioned as a “premiere, high-end, all-media entertainment conglomerate.” The short time that the business was running before bankruptcy was spent with fancy spending, filling their HQ with expensive stuff, throwing parties, hiring a bunch of unnecessary employees like models and NBA players who charged a lot of money and did very little, and giving away boxes of “swag” including free iPads. Who was it?

Question 19

Devised the art of “peacocking”

Both Tom and Ryan view themselves as ladies’ men, and while Ryan is probably more successful with women than Tom, they’re both pretty delusional about it. One of them has gone to great lengths to master the art of picking up women. They have spent a lot of time at bars and other locations studying more successful pickup artists the figure out their strategies, and they have devised their own pickup art form, which they call “peacocking.” It involves dressing yourself in a very flashy item that will make you stand out – the same technique employed by peacocks. Who is it?

Question 20

Plays online Scrabble with his boss

Both Tom Haverford and Ryan Howard are well versed in the strategies that employees must apply at the workplace in order to advance their career. Tom’s relationship with Ron Swanson as well as Ryan’s relationship with Michael Scott reflect their knowledge of getting on their bosses’ side so that they can get ahead at work. One of them plays online Scrabble with their boss during work time, and they lose on purpose so that they can advance their career. So, which of them is it?

Question 21

Didn’t actually go to Thailand

For pretty much an entire season of either Parks and Rec or The Office, either Tom or Ryan spent all their time at work bragging about his trip to Thailand. It’s a cool place to go to and he wanted to seem cool by talking about all of the friends he made there and all of the amazing experiences he had. But, at some point during the season, during a candid discussion, he reveals that he never actually went to Thailand, but went to Fort Lauderdale instead. Who was it?

Question 22

Came up with a financial plan that would fail

In one season of either The Office or Parks and Rec, either Ryan or Tom broke off with a few others to start a business, and he was in charge of coming up with the financial plan for it. He created one that successfully turned over a profit in the beginning, but didn’t take into account that as the business was expanding, the expenditures would also increase, and so he led the business in a downward trajectory. Who was it?

Question 23

Discovered Duke Silver

The discovery of Duke Silver deep in the heart of a jazz club was an iconic and pivotal moment in the history of either The Office or Parks and Rec, as either Ryan or Tom found out that one of his co-workers was moonlighting as a saxophone player who was very popular with the local women. The alter ego of Duke Silver also found out a secret about him, so they agreed to keep each other’s secrets from the rest of the workforce. Who was it who discovered Duke Silver?

Question 24

Worked at Lady Foot Locker

Tom and Ryan both spent their time in and out of work at the parks department of the local Pawnee government and the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, respectively. Neither of them really wanted to settle into a job there as they each had ambitions above and beyond their desk jobs. They weren’t permanent employees throughout their respective series, but they also ended up back there. But which of them spent a spell working at Lady Foot Locker?

Question 25

Got into nude photography

It was either Tom or Ryan who got really into photography for a short spell during their long run on television. Whoever it was, they were showing off their pictures around the workplace for their co-workers to see, as they were very proud of their work. Their goal with their photography was to take pictures that find the beauty in places where you wouldn’t normally find beauty. He also has a naked picture from inside the office for a photography series he’s working on called “Exposure in the Workplace.” Who was it?

Question 26

Rent-a-Swag

Was it Ryan or Tom who came up with the business Rent-a-Swag? It was one of their very few successful ventures into starting their own business, and it did really well with its target market. To be fair, the actual idea behind it is pretty solid. It targets parents who don’t want to buy their kids high end, fancy clothing during their puberty years because of their fluctuating size, so instead, Rent-a-Swag simply rents out those clothes to kids and it’s a lot cheaper for the parents. Who came up with this ingenious idea?

Question 27

Gives copies of his house key to beautiful women

We’ve discussed a lot throughout this quiz that Tom and Ryan both see themselves as ladies’ men who can get chicks. But which of those two eligible bachelors routinely distributes copies of his house key to beautiful women? All kinds of things could happen from this – it’s very dangerous. He could get locked out of his house or robbed, which he admits has happened. But he’s too desperate to stop giving his house key to every girl he meets. Who is it?

Question 28

Shares his name with a Philadelphia Phillies player

Either Ryan Howard or Tom Haverford is also the name of a Philadelphia Phillies player. He’s a first baseman and he’s an MVP Award winner and a three time National League All Star. He spent twelve years playing for the Phillies and has since signed Minor League contracts with the Atlanta Braves and the Colorado Rockies. The character used this shared name to their advantage by saying they were “____, the baseball player” to get into a nightclub in New York. What is the name of the player?

Question 29

Failed fragrance brand

It was either Tom Haverford or Ryan Howard who brought a cologne that they had devised to a local fragrance mogul called Dennis Feinstein so that he can pitch it as a potential business venture. However, Dennis thinks the cologne smells terrible and laughs either Tom or Ryan out of there. As revenge for rejecting his cologne, either Tom or Ryan sprays the interior of Feinstein’s car with the cologne so that “he’ll smell their dreams.” Who was it: Tom or Ryan?

Question 30

Wants a touch screen gravestone

Was it Ryan Howard or Tom Haverford who laid out the following plans for what to do with their cadaver after they die? “My gravestone’s gonna be a sixty inch touch screen with a hologram of four me’s singing End of the Road by Boys II Men.” Both Ryan and Tom are fans of the dramatic and the theatrical, and you can imagine that they would both want some flair with their tombs for their passage into the afterlife and their legacy. Who was it?

Question 31

WUPHF.com

WUPHF.com is a social media business venture pioneered by either Ryan or Tom. If you send someone a Wuphf, the message goes to their home phone, their cell phone, their email, their Facebook, their Twitter, their fax, and the home screen of their phone all at the same time, with the concept behind it being that when you have a really important message to send, if they send a Wuphf, there’s more of a chance of the recipient receiving it as quickly as possible. Whose idea was it?

Question 32

Worked at a bowling alley

During the runs of both The Office and Parks and Recreation, Tom Haverford and Ryan Howard kind of dipped in and out of working at the Pawnee local government’s parks and rec department and the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. They had bigger ambitions and so you could often find them jumping ship or getting fired and going in pursuit of their entrepreneurial dreams. It didn’t always work out, though. One of them was found spraying shoes in a bowling alley. Who was it?

Question 33

Ha a fake cousin named Mufasa

In an episode of either The Office or Parks and Recreation called “Grief Counseling,” the whole staff of the workplace setting is subjected to grief counseling sessions after the former boss Ed Truck dies (he may or may not have been decapitated in a motor accident). During one of the sessions, it was either Ryan or Tom who decided to make a funny and make up a story about their fake cousin called Mufasa who was trampled by a herd of wildebeests. But was it Ryan or Tom who made this Lion King reference?

Question 34

Loves the Twilight books

Either Ryan Howard or Tom Haverford was encouraged to read Twilight during an episode of their show. At first, they scoffed, but eventually, they caved and read it – and loved it! He says, “Twilight is dope. I couldn’t put it down. It was like she was peering into my soul.” He’s overjoyed to find that there’s a second book, and even more elated to hear that there’s a third and a fourth as well. His exact words upon learning this are: “No [BLEEP!]ing way.” Who was it?

Question 35

Sparkle Suds

Both Ryan Howard and Tom Haverford would often come up with some entrepreneurial ideas that they thought were the next big thing, like a million dollar idea, when in actual fact, a lot of them were really terrible. One of them was Sparkle Suds, which had the slogan “Dress loud.” It was a laundry detergent that contained glitter. What exactly this would achieve remains to be seen, but at least it has a USP. Whose idea was the Sparkle Suds business?

See Your Result
Questions Left
Current Score