The Internet’s Newest Debate: Are There More Wheels or Doors?

One Twitter user’s poll has sparked a multi-platform debate (even John Green’s joined in)

toy cars on the floor
How many wheels do you think you're looking at?
Natalia Kostikova / EyeEm

In a seemingly innocuous Twitter poll from user Ryan Nixon, he asked his 1500-some followers to settle a debate: are there currently more wheels in the world, or doors? 

The rest is oft-repeated Twitter history, in the same realm as the blue and black/white and gold dress. After posting the poll, over 200,000 people cast their votes. Wheels was the winner, with 53.6% of the vote.

But the conversation didn’t end there. On Tik Tok and Twitter, Team Wheels and Team Doors started arguing about which could actually be true. Team Doors argued that on cruise ships, there would be more doors than wheels. Team Wheels has argued that the presence of wheeled office chairs within every high-rise office building would still beat out the number of doors. 

The reality of being on the internet is that there will always be debates about pretty much anything. Why not make it about something stupid and fun? The original poll creator, Ryan Nixon, said that while he is firmly on Team Wheels, he was mostly happy that people are having fun with the argument, in an interview with The Guardian, Nixon said that “With everything else that was going on with Covid, Russia and Ukraine, and petrol prices, providing people with a lighthearted distraction or entertainment was cool.” 

Other arguments for both teams included: toy car factories (wheels), the presence of cells (doors), and the number of shipping containers in the world (doors). Users have argued about what counts as a wheel or a door (what about a rotating door?). Other celebrities got involved, with Late Late Show host James Cordon on Team Doors, while Hank and John Green are on Team Wheels. Still others have tried to come up with calculations proving their theories.

At the time of writing, there is no definitive answer, but my vote is for Team Wheels.

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