Are there more doors or wheels in the world? The answer to the debate
Are there more doors or wheels in the world? The debate is a bit difficult to answer as it depends on how you define a door and a wheel. Wheels are ubiquitous and can be found in almost everything that moves, from vehicles to machines. They are essential for transportation and play a crucial role in the functioning of the modern world. On the other hand, doors are a common feature in buildings as well as other places.

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The debate on whether there are more doors or wheels in the world was started by Ryan Nixon. The New Zealander posed the question to Twitter users on 5 March 2022. The debate took the internet by storm, gaining more than 2,000 replies, over 9000 retweets and 223,347 votes in 24 hours. The final poll was 53.6 per cent voting for wheels and 46.4 per cent for doors.
Are there more doors or wheels in the world?
Do you think there are more doors or wheels in the world? The debate divided social media users into two teams, and it needed a more profound thought. The wave quickly spread online, with celebrities, journalists and other users defending their side.
The mind-boggling question had social media users creating formulas and graphs to prove their answers. Statisticians and scientists attempted to solve the puzzle that appeared to have no easy conclusion. Well, defining wheels and doors is a helpful starting point to arrive at a reasonable answer.
What is a wheel?
It is a circular thing that spins on an axle and is connected to the underside of an object, such as a vehicle, to allow it to move freely on the ground. A wheel can be anything even if it's not for transportation. They are found on appliances, toys, shopping carts, and inside machines.
What is a door?
This is a barrier and a common feature in buildings used to close or open an entrance. It usually swings open and closes or can slide down a track and is used to control entry and exit. Examples of things with doors include but not limited to houses, cars, lockers, and cabinets.
How many doors are there in the world?

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The number of entrances can only be estimated as no on has counted them. These entrances are not limited to houses and building but they can be found in other objects and places. Doors are found in buildings, vehicles, boats, closets, compartments and many other places.
According to estimates, if the world's population size is 7 billion, there are 42 billion entryways.
How many wheels are there in the world?
There is no exact known number of wheels in the world but an estimate can be made. Since their invention in 2800 BC, more and more wheels have been produced. Here are some statistics about them.
- LEGO manufactures around 300 million wheels each year.
- Over 500 million Hot Wheels are produced yearly, each with at least two and commonly four wheels. This means at two wheels a piece, the total is 1 billion wheels.
- With the above numbers on just two wheels, the number is already at 1.3 billion per year. There is no point in counting the number of four-wheeled items.
Here is a breakdown of the different types of wheels in the world.
1. Motorbikes and bicycles
These two automobiles are used mainly by avid cyclists or motorcycle riders for movement. The first bicycle was patented by German inventor Karl von Drais in 1817, and there are over 1 billion bicycles in use today.
The motorcycle was invented in 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler, and there are over 600 million of them today. This is 1.2 billion wheels, not including gears, to be added to the above figure of wheeled automobiles on Earth.
2. Cars
Currently, there are over 1.446 billion cars on the road worldwide. A vehicle has an average of four wheels, so if you do the math, you get 5.784 billion.
One of the main factors to consider is when it comes to cars; it's a win for both sides. While this is true, there are numerous cars with two entryways, but the wheels are four.
Another fact is that all vehicles have steering rings and gears, which all count. This means the number of wheels in/on cars outnumbers the entryways.
3. Other wheeled things
- Chairs
- Machines
- Carts and trays
- Appliances
- Lawnmowers
- Skates, and rollerblades
There are an estimated 37 billion wheels on the planet which is way more than there are humans.
The argument for doors

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As per the poll on social media, the argument for the door was lost. However, #TeamDoors did not go down without a fight. Here is how the debate went down.
@MatthewDaubney wrote:
In my household, there are 29 doors, including fridge, cupboards, washing machine, tumble dryer and car. Got four wheels on my car, and the hamster has a wheel, can't think of any more wheels; I'm saying doors.
@UncleBobbings added:
Easily doors. There's double the number of homes in the world than cars. Then there are other types of buildings too, e.g. shops, businesses etc. Then on top of that, most vehicles have many entrances too.
One viewer attempted to explain the logic that:
Wheeled constructions always have doors. Doored structures don't always have wheels. There are substantially more structures with entrances than structures with wheels.
The argument for wheels

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Those on this team won the debate with more than half of the voters, and here is how they argued.
@jimmy_rickets wrote:
Wheels full stop. Everyone's thinking of fixed axle wheels but free axel wheels are on just about everything and are everywhere. Not even including wheels not meant for transportation like motor bearings and belt drivers.
@lilyffranklin13 said:
Who is voting doors??? There’s wheels on everything. I have wheels on my garment rack, makeup storage holder, rubbish bin. It’s definitely wheels.
Are there more wheels or doors in the world? The answer to the doors-wheels debate is wheels are more than doors. This is if you include all possible types, not just for transportation.
The debate shifts if the argument is limited to doors you can walk through and wheels for transport. This argument eliminates toys, machine parts, appliances, and office equipment.
Are there more doors or wheels in the world? The wheels or doors answer is that the former is more than the latter. The debate took the internet by storm, and both sides presented strong arguments to support their cases. It also brought people together and showed that the internet loves a good debate.
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