A curious and contemporary matter that has proven rather entertaining in recent days by the Generation Z and Millennial populations is that of “wheels versus doors.” This impassioned line of argument was prompted by a Twitter poll questioning, “Do you think there are more doors or wheels in the world?” Team wheels garnered 53.6% of voters. Which would you choose? Invariably, regardless of how well-considered your position, irrespective  of your persuasion, the discussion raises doubt.

To explore this conundrum, let’s clarify what qualifies as a door and a wheel. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a wheel is “a circular object that revolves on an axle and forms part of a machine,” while a door is “a hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at the entrances to a building, room, or vehicle, or in the framework of a cupboard.”

I have frequently been asked to weigh in on my opinion on this ongoing debate. My Instagram poll strongly supported wheels with 71% of voters, and I agree.. One respondent, Mara, is so convinced that she insists door proponents are “dead wrong.”

For team wheels, a typical argument is that, on a car, there are usually six wheels (including the steering wheel and the one in the boot) but only four doors. They also contend that toy cars have no working doors but four wheels. Obviously, there are millions of toy cars in the world! Furthermore, there are drawers, rotating shelves, and a myriad of furniture with wheels in every household.

Team doors, however, usually counteract with the suggestion that high rise buildings, such as skyscrapers, have hundreds of doors (entrance doors, room doors, kitchen units, shelving, and so on). They suggest that, on average, there are one or two cars per household, but so many more doors even if many households have toy cars.

The wheels versus doors debate has also spurred the question, “Are there more blades of grass or strands of hair?” If you will, ponder that one for just a moment…

For a question so simple, the matter of wheels versus doors has caused a lot of controversy on social media platforms and in other spheres. This poll was voted on by over 200,000 users and has been retweeted over 5,000 times. Why has it received so much attention when there are many more compelling issues at hand? Perhaps the world beseeches a release from the intensity of the pandemic experienced over the past two years and uses this as a stimulating yet mundane avenue to exhale.