Your best Would-You-Rathers?

October 9, 2018 8:43 AM

I need to divide large groups of students into either two or three somewhat equal groups every day, and use Would You Rather-type questions to do this quickly and efficiently. I teach some students over three years, and need to refresh my stock of dumb questions for my oldest group. Can you help?

My/their favorite ones are ones that the general population has an immediate gut response to with response more or less equally divided among either two or three options and are a little bit silly, like:

would you rather fight 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?
would your rather be Superman, Batman, or Spiderman?
would you rather get to/have to have an elephant's trunk the rest of your life, or a monkey's tail?
if you only got to listen to one song for the rest of your life, would you rather have it be the Baby Shark song or Let it Go?

I also like basic, non-silly questions that give me an idea of something about them that's not *too* personal, and suggestions for those would be okay too:

would you rather do a project alone or in a group?
would you rather be the oldest sibling in your your house or the youngest?

Needs to be appropriate for/resonant with 11-14 year-olds in a fairly conservative school environment.

posted by charmedimsure to Grab Bag (13 answers total)

would you only ever eat breakfast foods at dinner forever or dinner foods at breakfast forever?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:45 AM on October 9, 2018 [5 favorites]

we call this game "gotta choose," but i could edit it a little to be "would you rather":

- would you rather wake up early or stay up late?
- would you rather read on a kindle/e-reader or on paper?
- would you rather have one set of clothes that you always find comfortable or a huge wardrobe from which to pick each day?
- would you rather live (as an adult) in a big city or in a rural area?
- would you rather know how to juggle or how to walk on a tightrope?
- would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?
posted by elmer benson at 8:53 AM on October 9, 2018

would you rather be on stage in the spotlight or run the spotlight for the person on stage

would you rather go for a walk in the woods or for a walk in the city
posted by Ftsqg at 8:53 AM on October 9, 2018

Would you rather see the sunrise or the sunset?
Would you rather go to the beach or the mountains?
Would you rather drink a milkshake or a smoothie?
Would you rather be a music or math prodigy?
Would you rather write a paper or give a presentation?
Would you rather adopt a cat or dog?
Would you rather attend a concert or a musical?
Would you rather wear sandals or sneakers?
Would you rather read a book or watch a movie?
posted by lucy.jakobs at 9:00 AM on October 9, 2018

would you rather have one arm replaced with a tentacle or a lobster claw (assuming there is no "I would rather just keep my arm" option)
posted by terretu at 9:05 AM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

Depending on how ridiculous you want to get, this was a recurring segment on Comedy Bang Bang! and there's a repository here.

Admittedly, some are more adult than others, but no reason you couldn't mix and match.
posted by Twicketface at 9:10 AM on October 9, 2018

Would you rather make camera shutter noises when you blink or robot noises every time you move?
posted by sevenofspades at 10:36 AM on October 9, 2018 [3 favorites]

Olives or Horses? Works best with kids familiar with Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
posted by bq at 11:31 AM on October 9, 2018

Would you rather be able to burp the sound of a thunderclap, or fart the sound of a gong?
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:19 PM on October 9, 2018

Would you rather have twice as many fingers, or fingers that are twice as long?
posted by severalbees at 4:54 PM on October 9, 2018

I make these up for my daughters at bedtime on a regular basis (ages 6-11) and they tend to like ones that are silly but still make them think.

Would you rather jump into a swimming pool filled with whipped cream, a swimming pool filled with marshmallows, or a swimming pool filled with chocolate milk?

"The marshmallows would be soft. I'd choose that."
"Yeah, but the chocolate milk would let me swim, and that's what a pool is for!"
"But then you'd have to take a shower and wash chocolate milk out of your hair..."

I usually let them have a little conversation about the pros and cons before I count down and make them choose.

Would you rather be able to talk to dolphins or talk to dogs?

Would you rather be able to teleport instantly anywhere on earth, but only once a year, or would you rather be able to fly like Superman, but only for 15 minutes each day?
posted by tacodave at 4:56 PM on October 9, 2018

Would you rather:

1. do a ride along in a fire truck or a police cruiser?
2. be a student at Hogwarts or Star Fleet Academy?
3. work at Disney or Google?
4. learn magic tricks or a foreign language?
5. rather be Rocket or Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy?
6. roast marshmallows or pop popcorn?
7. go bungee jumping or ride a roller coaster?
8. go surfing or perform parkour?
9. do a crossword or a jig-saw puzzle
10. knit or cross-stitch?
11. build a snow man or a scare crow?
12. be a nurse or an EMT?
13. remember everything but be unable to forget, or have normal memory and be able to forget anything you want to instantly?
14. help other people to grow, or feel good about themselves as they are currently?
15. explore space or the Earth?
16. live in a houseboat or an RV?

posted by forthright at 7:53 PM on October 9, 2018

Would you rather have a prehensile tail or retractable claws?
Would you rather have gills or wings? (Mermaid or fairy, basically.)
Do you like the sun or the moon better?
Velvet or silk?
Denim or leather?
You could go through an assortment of the four elements, pairing them up differently each day, fire or air, air or water, and so on.
Amphibians or reptiles?
Rabbits or hamsters?
Dolphins or otters?
Beach or mountains? (Surfing or snowboarding?)
Broccoli or carrots?
Potatoes or pasta?
Hot dogs or hamburgers?
posted by Margalo Epps at 10:12 PM on October 10, 2018