Covid-19 Idea: Silly Debates

Jay Bell

I bet the founding fathers didn't debate if a circle has sides to it.

​People will often be happy to debate plenty of topics. These days, there’s an added edge to some debates. But let’s turn debates into a fun activity. As long as there are three, or even two of you, you can have debates. Zoom or FaceTime offers the same opportunity for someone who’s single. We won’t have normal debates this time around. These topics are based on comical, zany premises. They aren’t serious but do require thought, and can involve discussion afterwards to keep the fun going

Debating crazy topics such as, "why feet are just hands at the end of your legs" can help you forget about the pandemic for a little while and just focus on your friends or family.

Topics might include debating whether white is a color; why tacos vs. hot dogs are sandwiches; if cereal is actually a breakfast soup; whether or not eating a mermaid makes you a cannibal; and why plants are a kind of meat. But brainstorming is as fun as the debate itself!

Some simple rules (which you can adjust):

• You have two minutes for any research you want to do on your Phone.
• You each get two minutes to make your points.
• You each get 30 seconds for follow-up rebuttals.
• One person can be the judge, or you can rotate the judge. This person awards up to five points for the quality of each person's arguments.
• You can either play however many rounds you want, or you can play to a certain amount of points, such as 25​

Kids benefit from the critical thinking skills of researching, presenting, and thinking on their feet, and will enjoy coming up with topics. Grown-ups will shake off their seriousness, and can enjoy this with a couple of drinks on FaceTime or Zoom. After a couple of rounds, you’ll also see improvements, despite the nonsensical topics. You might even have people making laughable assertions that becomes a memorable story with your friends! ​