Unless you live in an absolutely reclusive state with no established contact with social media in any form, you must have stumbled upon the topic “Doors or wheels” at least once. It cannot get any random than that, right? What could “Doors or wheels” possibly mean? If you find your brain blanking with a soundless “…” thus, it is probably time to be au fait with the latest Internet buzz.
What does “doors or wheels” mean on TikTok?
Twitter and TikTok are not strangers to random, spontaneous spats. The doors or wheels debate is such a conversation that took birth seemingly out of nowhere and about a topic that is too insignificant but for whatever reason thought-provoking at the same time.
Believe it or not, the “doors or wheels” hashtag which has over 62.2 million views on TikTok is all about a trivia-like question of whether there are more doors or wheels in the world. The first answer that jumps to one’s mind might probably be “wheels” because of the number of vehicles that litter the streets all over the world, and they all have at least two wheels. However, Team Doors soon emerged with convincing pictures of the skyscrapers and towers in the world in addition to all the houses in the world which all have at least 2 doors themselves.
The figure exceeded billions for both objects, but things started getting out of hand when the qualifying criteria of both doors and wheels got expanded to encapsulate everything under the sun, including tiny wheels produced by Hot Wheels and Advent Calendars. A bit too boggling to wrap your head around, isn’t it? First, let’s take a look at how it all started.
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Doors or wheels: It all started with…
“Doors” and “wheels” as terms and objects often coexist in the real world, like on vehicles. However, out of the blue, commenced a boisterous conversation that pits one against the other with a fire to ascertain which outnumbers the other. It all started with a poll created by user @NewYorkNixon in a tweet on March 5, 2022, that posed the question “Do you think there are more doors or wheels in the world?”
It was a poll that emerged as the aftermath of a silly debate he had going with his friends. Taking even the tweeter himself by surprise, his random poll received a whopping 223,347 interactions, with Team Wheels taking the win with 53.6% votes (although Team Doors managed to make a noticeable dent with 46.4% of voters taking the camp).
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?
— Ryan Nixon (@NewYorkNixon) March 5, 2022
As we know, Twitter polls have an expiration date; so when it threatened to douse the conversation that was only burgeoning by the second and nowhere near ready to wane, the entire discourse transplanted itself to TikTok and transformed into more of a visually invigorating fight between the opposing teams. That is the story of how a poll that started as an attempt to find an acceptable answer to end a private debate thus fuelled the ongoing “doors or wheels” melee on the internet.
The doors or wheels TikTok discourse: State of things
Now that we have caught up to speed on how it all began and what it means, let’s delve deeper into the state of things — just why is it a discussion deserving such attention. How can a discussion about the number of doors and wheels in the world tear users on TikTok apart thus?
It is because of the fluent and endless supply of TikToks that counter each other continuously, of course. To understand it better, let’s backtrack to the points that set off the talk and to what peak it has escalated to at present.
@jalogann
In the beginning, the picture seemed to be very condensed, with a constricted consideration of merely houses and vehicles guiding the debate — Team Doors could probably win the argument, too, if circumstances prevailed. But, such a simple concept of doors and wheels could simply not hold the real scope of the discussion when Team Wheels landed a punch, pontificating on the omnipresence of wheels.
While Team Doors use skyscrapers, hospitals, and building complexes to present the number of doors that make up the shelves, doors, and windows in them, a rebuttal is equally possible when you consider the swivels and sliding wheels on drawers which are commonly found in multiple numbers in offices and homes both. It doesn’t even end there as both teams constantly dig up new sources to validate themselves like the “roller skates”, “trolley carts”, “Lego wheels”, and “Hot wheels” arguments used by Team Wheels, or “Advent calendars”, “locker room doors”, and “cupboards” arguments brought up by Team Doors (heh…it is something to consider, indeed).
The spirit of the discussion is not lost on famous brands, and they also make evident which team they side with. Like the way, United Parcel Service went for a showdown with a whole video slamming Team Doors. When UPS declared the number of wheels and doors on their vehicles to be 768,000 and 510,000 respectively, Go Pro burst their bubble right in the comments with the statement that all the 50,000,000 cameras they sold had doors (but, obviously no wheels).
@ups We counted the doors and wheels on all 127k+ of our vehicles to settle this #wheels #doors #doorsorwheels #wheelsvsdoors
Meanwhile, there is a good number of regular users who are growing increasingly discontent about the headache-inducing and completely pointless discussion. If you are among them, you might have to hang in there a bit longer, as you might still remember just what went down in the past when similar inconsequential debates erupted on the internet.
Throwback to the internet wrangles: History repeating
Dividing into two groups and heckling opponent teams’ opinions is such a familiar and inescapable course of events when it comes to social media disputes. If you recall, two other incidents happened in the not-so-distant past when the netizens found immense interest in arguing over the colors of a dress and the word heard in a short audio snippet.
@superduck_300 Is this dress Blue and Black or White and Gold?
Blue and Black versus Gold or White became the winning meme of 2015 which even saw scientists contributing to the narrative with serious discussions about human perception of colors and neuroscience.
The second discussion that induced caustic reactions occurred in 2018 when a short audio snippet had people voting for either “Yanny” or “Laurel” as the “correct” sound in it. Again, it needed the intervention of scientists with explanations about the sensitivity of human ears to different sound frequencies to kind of put the case to rest.
@prime_vidz It’s literally laurel… #fyp #foryoupage #fy #xyz #xyzbca #viral #trending #yanny #laurel #yannyorlaurel #like #follow #share #comment #pt1 #hearing
Such an end to the “doors or wheels” discussion is not in sight unless some mathematician or analyst manages to make a near-perfect data chart of all the doors and wheels in the world. But, that requires an impossible level of calculation and data accumulation, with a clear set of parameters and definitions to determine what counts or doesn’t count as a door or wheel. Because the netizens have stretched their scope beyond reconciliation at this point, it is uncertain whether any answer would be acceptable to either team unless it is in their favor.
“Doors or Wheels” debate on TikTok
Once you have taken camp, you stick for life…at least, that is the policy followed by the supporters of each team. Neither can convince the other, and it is evident with the compilations, logic, and computation they present to supplement their arguments.
@katiemyer11 it’s definitely doors i don’t care what you say #doors #wheel #LinkBudsNeverOff #OREOBdayStack #viral #doorsvswheels #wheelsvsdoors #imright #funny
Verbal explosions are common under any “doors or wheels” video, with each team disavowing the examples listed by the other as asinine. You might also notice just how ludicrous the entire discourse has turned into, as the participants’ definitions of both words gray and blur further to accommodate their opinions. That said, each user presents their case in lucid terms with explanations backing their stance. For instance, the creator below talks about Legos that produces wheels in billowing figures that could perhaps smother the number of doors all by itself given time.
@hankgreen1 #answer to @brantley1012 We must do a census.
When we consider wheels and doors with a special emphasis on how and where they are used, there is a fundamental difference between the two that could perhaps end the whole discussion. Wheels are what we call use-and-throw manufactured goods produced in millions every year. As a disposable item that is constantly replaced, there should be a terrifying number of wheels in the world right now that could outnumber a lot of things, including doors. This is because, doors, although present everywhere humans have built themselves an abode, are used as objects that last generations. This is to point in the video presented by TikToker, @b.gogis.
@b.gogis #greenscreen If anyone is actually on #teamdoor they’re a liar. #teamwheels #doors #wheels #doorsorwheels
What juts out here, yet again, is the need to set clear definitions to even attempt to quantify these objects in numbers. But, none of it really matters, given the possibility that the entire discourse about doors and wheels would fade from hot searches in a few short days… just like any other viral meme or internet feud. Both objects are integral elements in the modern life we have woven for ourselves. Does it really matter, as long as there are enough doors and wheels in the world to keep everyone happy and safe?
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