Debate topics
Funny debate topics you can argue out loud
The best funny debate topics sound silly for five seconds and then turn out to be surprisingly hard to argue. Should ghosts pay rent? Are hot dogs sandwiches? Would dragons make terrible pets? Each one hides a real question about fairness, definitions, or responsibility, and that is what makes it fun to argue out loud.
Below are every Absurd motion and every Hot take on Contradicto. Absurd motions are pure imagination: there are no facts to look up, so the round goes to whoever builds the most convincing world and keeps a straight face. Hot takes are the everyday arguments people already have over dinner, about food, pets, films, and office life, where everyone arrives with an opinion.
On Contradicto you argue them with your voice. Pick a motion, take FOR or AGAINST, and face Vera, our AI debater, or a friend. Eleven AI jurors listen and switch sides as your points land. Jokes help, but the jury rewards a joke that also makes a point, and it punishes dodging the other side's best argument. Every motion's page has arguments for both sides, sample openers, and tips.
How to win a silly debate
- Commit to the premise. Argue as if the motion were a real law. The audience laughs harder when you defend pigeons' right to vote with a straight face.
- Find the real question. Under every absurd motion sits a real one: who pays, who decides, what counts. Name it and you steer the round.
- Answer the best point. Jurors switch when you answer the other side's strongest argument, not when you talk louder.
Absurd
- Pigeons should be allowed to vote
This motion asks whether city pigeons should get a say in elections. It is gloriously absurd, but arguing it well means thinking seriously about who gets a voice in democracy and why. The fun is mixing ridiculous images of pigeons at polling stations with real points about representation, the environment, and what makes someone fit to vote.
- Ghosts should pay rent
If a ghost haunts your home, uses your space, and keeps you up at night, should it pay rent like any other tenant? This motion is wonderfully silly, but it raises real ideas about fairness, property, and what we owe the people, or spirits, we live with. Winning means mixing playful logic with a clear sense of justice.
- Socks with sandals are peak fashion
This motion makes a bold claim: socks with sandals are not just acceptable, they are the height of fashion. It is deliberately over the top, which makes it fun to argue. The FOR side must show the look is stylish, daring, and admirable, while the AGAINST side can laugh at the idea while making real points about taste and design.
- The moon should be cut in half to make two moons
One moon is lovely, but imagine two. This motion proposes slicing the moon in half to give Earth a pair. It is gloriously absurd, but arguing it well means thinking about tides, night skies, poetry, and the risks of meddling with nature. The fun is making ridiculous ideas sound almost reasonable, or explaining with flair why they are a disaster.
- Every office should have a resident goose
Picture a goose waddling between desks, honking at deadlines, and guarding the kitchen. This motion is absurd, but it makes a real point about workplace morale, animals at work, and office culture. Winning means making the jury laugh while building a clear case about what a goose would really add to, or cost, an office.
- Dragons would make terrible pets
Fire-breathing, flying, and famously fond of gold: would dragons really be awful to keep at home? This motion is pure fantasy, but arguing it well means treating it like a real question about animal care, safety, and what makes a good pet. The fun is building vivid, logical cases about a creature nobody has ever owned.
- Time travel should require a license
If time travel became possible, should people need a licence to do it, like driving a car or flying a plane? This motion is a fun fantasy debate with real ideas about safety, freedom, and responsibility. The debate turns on whether rules could protect history from careless travellers, or whether licences would be pointless, unfair, or impossible to enforce.
- Mondays should be cancelled forever
Mondays have a terrible reputation. This motion proposes simply getting rid of them, forever. It is playful and absurd, but arguing it well means thinking about what would actually happen to work, school, calendars, and the dreaded first day of the week. The debate turns on whether the problem is Monday itself, or just whichever day comes first.
- Dinosaurs should be brought back for one weekend a year
This motion adds a strange twist to bringing back dinosaurs: they would appear for only one weekend each year, like a prehistoric festival. It is absurd and wonderful to argue, because you must explain both the joy and the chaos of that weekend. The debate turns on whether a short, controlled visit gives us the wonder without the long-term problems.
- All meetings should be held in a ball pit
Imagine every budget review, team stand-up, and board meeting taking place waist-deep in plastic balls. This motion is gloriously silly, but it hides a real question: does making work less formal and more playful lead to better meetings, or just to chaos? Winning means mixing jokes with genuine points about attention, hierarchy, and how people actually behave together.
Hot takes
- Pineapple belongs on pizza
Few food arguments are as famous as this one. Does pineapple belong on pizza? This motion is a classic friendly fight about taste, tradition, and culinary freedom. It is fun because everyone has a view, and tricky because taste alone does not win debates. The best arguments link flavour, culture, and choice to reasons the jury can accept.
- Hot dogs are sandwiches
A sausage in a bun: is that a sandwich? This motion is a famous food definition argument that sounds silly but tests your ability to define terms and defend edge cases. The debate turns on what a sandwich really is: bread around a filling, two separate slices, or something people simply recognise when they see it.
- Cats make better pets than dogs
It is one of the oldest friendly rivalries: cat people versus dog people. This motion asks which animal makes the better pet. It is fun because almost everyone has a side and a story, and hard because better depends on who you are and how you live. Smart debaters define the ideal pet first, then show their animal fits it.
- Tipping culture should end
In some countries, tips make up a big part of workers' income; in others, they are rare. This motion argues tipping culture should end, replaced by fair wages and clear prices. The debate turns on whether tips reward good service and help workers, or create unfair pay, awkward pressure, and confusion for customers.
- Breakfast is overrated
We have all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This motion challenges that idea. It is fun because it touches habits, culture, and morning routines, and tricky because it is easy to drift into health claims you cannot prove. The debate turns on whether breakfast deserves its special status or is just another meal.
- Reply-all should be banned
One person hits reply-all, and suddenly hundreds of inboxes fill with messages nobody needed. This motion argues the button should disappear. It is a funny, relatable debate about workplace communication, but there is a real question underneath: is reply-all a useful tool misused by a few, or a design flaw that causes more trouble than it solves?
- Movie theaters should allow phones
Phones in cinemas usually mean glowing screens, buzzing alerts, and annoyed neighbours. This motion argues they should be allowed anyway. It is a sharp, relatable debate about freedom, courtesy, and how people actually watch films today. The debate turns on whether the shared cinema experience must be protected, or whether rules should match modern habits.
- Cereal is a soup
Cereal floats in a liquid, is eaten from a bowl with a spoon, and sometimes goes soggy. So is it a soup? This motion is a classic food definition argument. It is fun because it sounds absurd, and hard because you must build a real definition of soup and defend it against strange edge cases your opponent will throw at you.
- The book is always better than the movie
Readers often say the book was better after watching a film adaptation. This motion makes that a rule: the book is always better. The word always is crucial. The FOR side must defend every case, while the AGAINST side only needs to find adaptations that match or surpass their books. The debate turns on what each form does best.
- Sequels are better than originals
Most people assume the first film or book is best, and sequels are cash grabs. This motion argues the opposite. It is a fun debate for film, game, and book fans. The debate turns on whether sequels can build on what came before, with bigger stories and better craft, or whether they only repeat ideas that felt fresh the first time.