Can I use my own topics instead?

Yes. The box is a plain text box, so you can edit it, delete it or paste your own list over the top. One topic per line, or separated by commas. Changing the list rebuilds the pool and clears the draws so far, because keeping a set-aside topic out of a list it is no longer in would be a lie.

Can the same topic come up twice?

Not while Set aside is on, which is how this page opens: a drawn topic is removed from the pool. Switch to Keep in pool and every topic stays in, so the same one really can come up again. The line under the result says which just happened and how many topics are left.

How do I draw more than one at a time?

Raise the Pick count with the plus button or type a number into it. Asking for more topics than the pool holds is refused with a message saying how many there are, rather than quietly giving you fewer.

Is the draw actually random?

Every draw comes from crypto.getRandomValues, the browser's cryptographic generator, and the index is taken by rejection sampling so no position in the list is favoured. The slot-machine reveal is decoration over a result that was already decided before the first frame: watching it cannot change the winner.

Where do these topics come from?

They are written into the tool itself, thirty of them, chosen to be answerable by a room with no preparation and to be arguable on both sides. Nothing is fetched from anywhere, so the list works offline and is identical for everyone.

Is there a faster way to draw?

Press the space bar. It draws whenever the focus is not in a text field or on a button, so you can run a session without going back to the mouse.

Random Topic Picker

This page opens with thirty conversation and presentation topics already in the box, so you can press Pick and have one. They are open questions rather than titles, because the point of drawing a topic is that the room then has something to argue about. Set aside is on, so a topic that has been drawn leaves the pool and cannot come up twice: work through all thirty and nothing repeats.

Names30 names

A skill everyone should learn before leaving school
Whether homework should be set at all
The invention that changed daily life the most
Should the working week be four days
What makes a city worth living in
Whether social media has been good for friendship
The best way to learn a language
Should voting be compulsory
A book or a film that changed how you think
Whether money can buy happiness
The case for and against space exploration
What schools should teach and do not
Should zoos exist
The most overrated technology of the last ten years
Whether remote work is here to stay
How to spot a bad argument
Should university be free
The best meal you have ever eaten
Whether artificial intelligence should be regulated
A rule you would abolish tomorrow
What makes someone a good teammate
Whether cash will disappear
The place you would move to for a year
Should sport be played for money
How you would spend an unexpected free day
Whether news should be free to read
The habit that has helped you most
Should cars be banned from city centres
What you would put in a time capsule
Whether luck matters more than effort

The pick0 of 30 in the pool

Ready

Pool

0 of 30

Pick count

Picked name

Every name has been set aside. Reset the pool to draw from the whole list again.

Press Space to pick without reaching for the mouse. Names are separated by line breaks and by commas, so a column pasted from a spreadsheet and a comma list both work. Editing the list rebuilds the pool and clears the draws, and Reset pool puts every name back and clears the draws without touching the list.

The spin decides nothing. The winner is drawn from crypto.getRandomValues the moment you press Pick, and the names that flick past afterwards are frames built to end on it. Watching it cannot change who came out. Each name in the pool has the same chance on every draw: the index is taken by rejection sampling rather than a remainder, so no position in your list is favoured. A name typed twice is two entries in the pool, which is how you give someone two chances, and the Names header counts the repeats so it is never a surprise.

Accuracy. Each name has the same chance on every draw, from the browser's cryptographic generator. With 'set aside' on, a picked name is removed from the pool so later draws come from the rest.

Common questions

Can I use my own topics instead?: Yes. The box is a plain text box, so you can edit it, delete it or paste your own list over the top. One topic per line, or separated by commas. Changing the list rebuilds the pool and clears the draws so far, because keeping a set-aside topic out of a list it is no longer in would be a lie.
Can the same topic come up twice?: Not while Set aside is on, which is how this page opens: a drawn topic is removed from the pool. Switch to Keep in pool and every topic stays in, so the same one really can come up again. The line under the result says which just happened and how many topics are left.
How do I draw more than one at a time?: Raise the Pick count with the plus button or type a number into it. Asking for more topics than the pool holds is refused with a message saying how many there are, rather than quietly giving you fewer.
Is the draw actually random?: Every draw comes from crypto.getRandomValues, the browser's cryptographic generator, and the index is taken by rejection sampling so no position in the list is favoured. The slot-machine reveal is decoration over a result that was already decided before the first frame: watching it cannot change the winner.
Where do these topics come from?: They are written into the tool itself, thirty of them, chosen to be answerable by a room with no preparation and to be arguable on both sides. Nothing is fetched from anywhere, so the list works offline and is identical for everyone.
Is there a faster way to draw?: Press the space bar. It draws whenever the focus is not in a text field or on a button, so you can run a session without going back to the mouse.

Each name has the same chance on every draw, from the browser's cryptographic generator. With 'set aside' on, a picked name is removed from the pool so later draws come from the rest.