Laughter may be the best medicine, but does this apply to serious debates?
You’ve no doubt been involved in some debates – both informal and formal – at some point in your life. Perhaps the debate was part of a class where you had to defend a controversial position. Or maybe it was just a debate for fun among friends.
Whatever the case, you’ll learn that debates are almost a fundamental part of the human experience. From the marble temples of ancient Greece and Rome to the street corners of modern countries, people have always felt a great urge to argue their side of an issue.
As you get a little older, you’ll find that debates can be great ways to hone your speaking, logic, and research skills. Taking part in debates can help you become a better essay writer, but they can also be fun! There’s no reason why debates have to be dry and boring. In fact, debates are supposed to be engaging, so injecting some humor into your next debate could score you points with your friend group or help you get a better grade in class.
Developing a Funny Debate Topic
If you’re scratching your head thinking of potential topics, don’t worry, almost anything can be turned into a debate topic. A good debate topic just requires you to take a particular side of an issue or topic and to defend it against the opposing side.
However, developing a humorous debate topic can be a little more difficult.
Writing a good humorous debate topic requires you to look at things from a lighter perspective. So, it helps to begin with topics that are on the light side. Consider these points when developing funny debate topics.
- Just because you find something funny doesn’t mean everyone will.
- Search for comedic common ground and topics that a wide range of people will find funny.
- Keep things light. It’s okay for funny debate topics to approach serious matters, but tread lightly if you do so.
If you’re still struggling to think of funny debate topics, I have you covered! Keep reading for 130+ hilarious, silly, weird, and just plain funny debate topics that are guaranteed to spark laughter.
Funny Debate Topics for Kids
- What’s better, cake or pie?
- Should kids be required to own a pet?
- Should there be a day when kids make the rules?
- Kids should have more input on video games
- Should kids have chocolate cake every day at school?
- The best, and worst, frozen treats
- Should kids be allowed to travel in space?
- Should parents give their kids whatever they want on their birthday?
- Should there be a national “Kids Day” holiday?
- What’s better, dogs or cats?
- Lunch hour should be “lunch two hours”
- Should grade schools enforce a “buddy system” for students?
Funny Debate Topics for Middle School
- What’s the best teen comedy book?
- Will teachers be robots in the future?
- Should middle school students be able to choose all their classes?
- Should schools have video game lounges?
- How smart are smartphones?
- Should there be a grade for lunchtime?
- If superpowers were real, which ones should be banned?
- Should students teach their teachers for one day?
- Should schools have full food courts?
- Should students be allowed to bring their pets to school?
- Should students be allowed to choose the same classes as their friends?
Funny Debate Topics for High School
- Should yearbook photobombing require penalties?
- The best comic book hero for teens to emulate
- Is walking your dog better than going on a date with a person?
- Should schools allow students to cook their meals?
- Should schools pay for students’ graduation parties?
- Team rock skipping should be an official school sport
- Should high schools offer classes on social media branding?
- School cafeterias should be “teacher-free” zones
- The best architectural layout for a school
- What’s the best high school prank?
- Would mandatory “taco Tuesday” make high school better?
- Should math classes teach poker and blackjack?
- Should history teachers be forced to dress in historical periods?
Funny Debate Topics for Students
- Should there be a mandatory nap time for students of all ages?
- Schools should have a “junk food day,” where only ice cream and donuts are served in the cafeteria
- Allow students to train to become Hollywood stunt people
- For one week, students should be required to wear the clothes their parents wore when they were their age.
- Students should be forced to only use paper and pen for an entire semester
- Should grades be given for music and art classes?
- Should parents be forced to read their kids’ homework?
- Is it time to bring back tweed jackets and monocles?
- The best way to clean up public restrooms, or just get rid of them.
- Will students ever have access to flying cars?
- Should stand-up comedy be an officially recognized extracurricular activity for students?
Funny Debate Topics for College Students
- Should students be forced to adopt a “Borg” name?
- Colleges should have car rental offices
- There should be bars/pubs on college campuses
- The best substitute for Solo cups?
- Should every college student go on at least one road trip?
- Should nicknames be mandatory for college students?
- Is getting life lessons from that crazy uncle good or bad?
- Should dorms be demolished or made mandatory?
- Should transportation be included with tuition?
- Should colleges open cannabis dispensaries in states where it’s legal?
- The best post-workout adult beverage
- Should gift cards be awarded for perfect attendance?
- Is being a “lifetime student” a good or bad thing?
Funny Debate Topics for Adults
- Is it worse to question a man’s height or a woman’s weight?
- Argue that procrastination is a legitimate work strategy
- Should parents be able to trade their kids for other kids?
- Should the government give free coffee rations?
- At what age does “adulting” become most difficult?
- At what age does “adulting” become easiest?
- Should spa visits be a mandatory benefit of corporate jobs?
- Should adults who live with their parents be given tax breaks?
- Should it be against the law to lie about your age to a date?
- The best way to save money on beer
- What’s best for grilling: propane or charcoal?
- Should cannabis dispensaries have mascots?
Funny Debate Topics for Friends
- Is it okay to end a friendship over pizza topping preferences?
- Should all friend groups have at least one inside joke?
- A game that is sure to test any friendship
- Should young male friends be required to have at least one fist fight with each other?
- Should a joker be designated in each friend group?
- Can people of the opposite sex really be true friends?
- Should people be required to say one good thing and one bad thing about each of their friends?
- Decide who pays for dinner by drawing straws
- Should the shortest member of a friend group make all the decisions?
- Should every member of a friend group, no matter their sex, get the same haircut?
- The friend with the worst joke pays for gas
Funny Debate Topics for Dating
- Should amusement parks be required for first dates?
- The most cringe place to take a first date
- Should word games be played on a date?
- Are romantic or suspense films better to get your date to cuddle?
- Should there be an astrology assessment on the first date?
- The best way to handle a bad case of gas during a date
- Should people have to pretend they’re blind for blind dates?
- Why the term “going Dutch” should be permanently retired
- Why dressing up like Star Trek characters for a date is a good, or bad, idea
- Should mothers come along with their sons on dates?
- Should men be required to meet their dates’ fathers on the first date?
- Is it okay for an identical twin to substitute for their twin on a date?
Funny Debate Topics for Couples
- Should pillow talk always involve pillows?
- Should mothers-in-law have legal protections?
- The best, or worst, way to make up after an argument
- Are couples’ selfies detrimental to relationships?
- Couples’ matching Halloween costumes are cringe
- Should every couple have at least one pet for each person?
- Should partners alternate cooking duties every night?
- Is hoarding snacks from your partner good or bad?
- Should couples only have pets that resemble them?
- Why it’s good for the woman to be taller than the man
- Should a comedy routine be part of couples’ therapy?
Funny Debate Questions
- Pineapple should be banned as a pizza topping
- The virtues of “Florida Man”
- Should ginger ale be considered soda?
- The power to fly or read people’s minds?
- Why did the chicken cross the road?
- What came first, the chicken or the egg?
- Should Batman even be considered a superhero?
- Should bubble gum be considered a food group?
- Why is Lex Luthor the greatest supervillain of all time?
- Should processed meats actually look like meat?
- Why being an amphibian would be cool
- Is it right to attach eavesdropping devices to dogs and cats?
- There should be a “National Day of Pizza”
Silly Debate Topics
- Clowns or mimes?
- Should companies allow their employees to use nicknames?
- The benefits of “dance-offs” to resolve conflicts
- Silly string should be mandatory in every workplace
- Companies should extend lunch hour to allow time for an open mic
- What’s the most boring book in recorded history?
- Why every person should be required to pull at least one prank in their life
- Is it okay to dress dogs and cats like humans?
- Anthropomorphic animals shouldn’t be allowed in cartoons
- Should toilet paper pass under or over the roll?
- Is breakfast cereal a type of soup?
- Do rocks make good pets?
Hilarious Debate Topics
- Is belching during a meal rude or a sign of respect?
- Is a patty melt a sandwich or a burger?
- Should people be allowed to put ketchup on hot dogs?
- Should tag become a professional sport?
- Leisure suits should be required in the workplace every Monday
- Classes should be offered on how to make the worst food possible
- When is it acceptable to pass gas?
- Should senior citizens be given free electric guitars?
- Everyone should be required to get at least one bad haircut in their lives
- Should professional wrestling be considered a true sport?
- Should workplaces have more or fewer water coolers
- Everyone should be “roasted” when they’ve been on a job for a year
- Should people be allowed to have numbers for names?
Weird Debate Topics
- Should time travel experiments be banned?
- More believable: ghosts or aliens?
- Should kids be taught about the “hollow Earth” theory?
- Defend the “flat Earth” theory
- Should competitive eaters be paid as much as other professional athletes?
- Was the Moon landing an elaborate hoax?
- Should robots be given the right to vote?
- Could a Viking warrior defeat a Japanese samurai?
- Should people eat more seaweed?
- If you could come back as an animal, which one would be best?
- Should people try to contact deceased loved ones from beyond the grave?
- Demolition derby should be an Olympic sport
- Why standard zombie survival kits should be mandatory
Find the Humor in the Mundane
If you really take the time to look at normal, everyday things, you’ll eventually find humor in them. Once you do find the humor in some of those things, you’ll be able to form debate topics that are sure to engage and crack up your spectators.
Just remember that even the silliest and weirdest ideas can be turned into debate topics. When you consider a topic, always think about how it can be viewed through a comical lens and how the topic itself can be made into a potential one-liner.
It’s also important to have plenty of fun in the process! If you’re having fun developing funny debate topics, then your fun quotient will seep through in your topics.
And don’t forget to check out some of our recent posts, including:
“TOK concepts Made Easy” and “How to Write an Essay About a Book That Grabs
Attention”
Good luck on all of your future writing and debating endeavors and be sure to check this blog for new articles that will bring your writing and speaking to the next level.