What we can all agree on is that the internet has plenty of folks who can’t wait to sink their teeth into an interesting debate. We saw it with Laurel versus Yanny and the blue or black versus the white and gold dress. Last year, netizens pounced on a new topic – are there more doors or wheels in the world?
How the wheel vs. door debate started
It all started on March 5, 2022, when New Zealander Ryan Nixon asked users of the social media platform Twitter whether they felt there were more doors or wheels in the world.
How the wheel vs. door debate is going
He probably did not intend to launch an online brawl at that point. But as is wont on the internet, it escalated pretty quickly. Everyone and their grandma had an opinion, and battle lines were drawn. Statisticians, scientists, and mathematicians all attempted to solve this puzzle that appeared to have no solution.
Way.com, the auto super app, is now weighing in. We love simplifying everything that has to do with cars. Ergo, we are also experts in everything about wheels and doors! Inyouths, though they are experts in LED mirrors, are also happy to join in.
What can be considered a wheel?
A wheel is a circular item that spins on an axle and is attached to the underside of a vehicle or other object to allow it to travel freely on the ground.
That’s not all it is, though. Wheels aren’t just for transportation. You’ll find wheels on toys, appliances, shopping carts, etc. There are also wheels inside machines.
What can be considered a door?
A door is a barrier that usually swings open and closed or slides down a track and is used to close or open an entrance to control entry and exit.
How many doors are there in the world?
To be honest, no one has actually gone around counting all the doors in the world. What we have is more like a guesstimate. After all, it’s not just houses that have doors. Apartment buildings, skyscrapers, automobiles, cabinets, and closets all have doors.
However, research by an expert mathematician indicates that if the world’s population is 7 billion, there may be 42 billion doors all across the planet.
That’s a whole lot of doors! But how does it compare to the number of wheels in the world?
How many wheels are there in the world?
Automobiles, toys, appliances, office equipment, and machines all have wheels. So naturally, it’s nearly difficult to count all the wheels in the world precisely. After all, they’ve been around since 2800 BC, which is when they were invented.
Here are some startling figures about wheels:
Every year, LEGO produces around 300 million wheels.
Every year, 500 million Hotwheels are produced. Each Hotwheel has at least two and commonly four wheels (at 2 wheels apiece, we get 1 billion wheels).
Remember, we are still on toy wheels, and we’ve already reached 1.3 billion per year. So at this point, we don’t even need to count the number of four-wheeled items. But still, we’ll break down the different types of automobile wheels in the world.
Motorbikes and bicycles
If you don’t believe that two wheels are all you need, simply ask any avid cyclist or motorcycle rider.
More than a billion bicycles are in use today, dating back to the 1817 patent of the first one by German inventor Karl von Drais. On the other hand, Gottlieb Daimler invented the motorcycle in 1885, and there are only 49 million of them now.
Two billion wheels (which doesn’t include gears) —are added to the total number of wheeled vehicles on Earth.
Cars
There are currently 1.446 billion cars on the road around the globe. The average number of wheels on a modern passenger car is four, so multiply that by 5.784 billion to get 5.784 billion wheels.
Now you might wonder if having that many cars is a major win for wheels, isn’t it a win for doors too? After all, don’t cars have the same number of doors and wheels? But, unfortunately, your doubt, while valid, is not always true.
The vast majority of cars on the planet are sedans, four-door SUVs, and other vehicles with a wheel-to-door ratio of 4:4. But remember, there are plenty of two-door cars.
Also, have you forgotten that all cars have a steering wheel? And what about the gears that power your vehicle? Those are wheels too. When it comes to the number of wheels in/on cars, the doors are clearly outnumbered.
Each car has an average of six wheels, even if we remove the four major wheels and count only the steering wheels and transmissions.
If you do the math (we did ? ), you’ll find that there are 8.676 billion wheels on the planet—far more than there are humans, let alone doors!
Wheels are everywhere!
Unicycles, skates, and rollerblades all have wheels. Even Wheelie shoes have wheels! Other items with wheels include
- Toys
- Wheeled chairs
- Lawnmowers
- Wheelbarrows
- Shopping carts
- Wheels within machinery and technology
- Wheels in/on furniture
Our verdict on the doors vs. wheels debate
Seeing people from all over the world put their brains together to solve this seemingly unsolvable question is pretty awesome. And yes, we’re nowhere even close to a precise estimate of the total number of wheels and doors on the planet. But we’ve already found well over 38 billion possible wheels in the world—far more than the number of doors.
How to make sure your wheels are protected
Regardless of whether you’re on Team Door or Team Wheels, the auto super app Way.com can help you find low-cost auto insurance for your vehicle.
Compared to figuring out the total number of wheels on the planet, insurance buying with Way.com is a piece of cake! First, you just need to get on the Way.com website or download the Way app. Then you enter your information, then sit back and relax your brain while Way.com does the heavy lifting. As a result, the average Way.com user saves $971 each year on auto insurance. And, in the end, that is the most important number.
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