The question that has caused mental distress, heavy debate, and a large-scale crisis: wheels or doors? The fundamental question is this: on Earth, are there more wheels or doors?   Each side, whether it be Team Doors or Team Wheels, is heavily intent upon finding evidence that supports their argument. However, in consideration to their notable numbers, it becomes clear that there has to be more wheels.

   Wheels set the foundation for most machinery and have been the most influential invention for energy since the early first century. Within Roman times, the water wheel was constructed to aid crop irrigation and provide power to at-home textile mills. Locomotion machinery such as cars and planes depend on wheels for fast and efficient transportation. 

   At the start of the argument, consider transportation. 78 million cars are manufactured each year, considering most would on average include four wheels, that is 312 million wheels developed every year for vehicles alone. Within the COVID-19 pandemic, biking, skateboarding and roller skating became prevalent, each containing between two to four wheels. With 100 million bikes a year, 500,000 skateboard wheels and 300,000 pairs of skates produced every month, wheels are the invention that keeps up with every generation’s needs. 

   Team Doors manages to argue that with the installation of homes, the number of doors that are included within kitchen cabinets, room doors and skyscrapers must outnumber the number of wheels in the workplace. However, envision a classic office building within New York City; a skyscraper-filled to the brim with office cubicles that lack the luxury of separated rooms with doors. Looking at the office decor, imagine the classic wheely chairs that allow for comfortable office sitting. Each one of those chairs contains five or more wheels each. There are hundreds of cubicles in one skyscraper and hundreds of skyscrapers in cities worldwide. Wheels easily outnumber the number of doors when scaled to the smaller wheels that make basic things movable. 

   LEGO has produced 318 million wheels that accompany each playset; when members of Team Doors consider Hot Wheels, baby strollers and wagons that fill each childhood with mobile dreams, it becomes evident that the amount of wheels is more remarkable than doors. 

   Industrialized factory life requires the use of wheels in conveyor belts. Conveyor belts move with thousands of wheels that push the smooth, canvassed surface along the factory floor. Consider the implications of the sheer amount of wheels present within a factory.

   With the heated war between Team Doors and Team Wheels, each side presents complications. It proves challenging to advocate for a particular side under specific “definitions.” What defines a wheel? Could gears within machines that rotate upon an axis be counted towards the wheel count. What signifies a door? Oxford Language considers it “a hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at the entrance to a building, room, or vehicle, or in the framework of a cupboard”. However, if windows frequently work on hinges, then Team Doors consider this window an asset in their total count. 

   It can be understood that doors are typically more frequently seen in the build of everyday life. Wheels, on the contrary, have their edge in their sheer numbers; wheels are found within groups rather than individuals (like doors). Hence, there are more wheels than doors when it comes down to the amount versus the frequency.