I have a bad habit of falling asleep while scrolling through Tiktok. Each night, after a long school day and hours of homework, I unwind by immersing myself in current events, new trends, and niche jokes. 

Two nights ago, during my nightly scroll session, this changed. My for you page was flooded with videos surrounding a brand new debate: does the world have more doors or wheels?

So that night, I didn’t end up going to sleep as planned. I stayed up, determined to find the answer.

 The worldwide controversy started when Twitter user Ryan Nixon posted a poll: “My mates and I are having the STUPIDEST debate… And I am here for it. Do you think there are more doors or wheels in the world?” he wrote. The final votes totalled to 223,347, with 53.6% leaning towards wheels. 

Great, I thought. Wheels is the answer, so I can sleep.

Little did I know it wouldn’t be that easy. The next day, as I walked into the trainers’ office, I was hit with the exact same question, written on the window. Doors or wheels? My mind was brought straight back to the night before, and being the analytical person that I am I began compiling evidence and rules for each side.

Doors: Must open and close and have a handle, so things like boxes and toilet seats do not count. Doors can, however, include cabinets and lockers

Wheels: Must roll/revolve on an axel. This includes the obvious car tires as well as the smaller wheels on chairs, suitcases, and even on conveyor belts/factory lines.

But the burning question, which are there more of? After careful consideration, I’m team wheels. While most cars have 4 wheels and 4 doors, 18-wheeler trucks only have 2 doors. Yes, there are countless schools and large office buildings with thousands of doors, but often in these buildings you can find chairs rolling on 4-6 wheels. 

So how did this single tweet drive the internet into chaos? The question, as Nixon said, is extremely random, but so intriguing. It’s also impossible to count every door and wheel in the world, proving this an unsolvable paradox. 

This trend of small debates sparking huge controversy can be compared to the “The Dress” in 2016, and the Yanny vs. Laurel confusion in 2018–both of which plagued the internet and our minds alike.

Add your vote to the “Doors or Wheels” debate on the newest TFS poll.