177 Hypothetical Questions To Think Deeper in 2025

The beauty of hypothetical questions is their ability to spark the kinds of conversations that stick with us long after they’re over. And every so often, a single conversation has the power to change everything.

Mel Robbins, for example, came up with her Let Them theory - which later became a bestselling book - during a conversation with her daughter. And Reed Hastings? A casual chat about late fees eventually sparked the idea for Netflix.

That’s the magic of a good question: it can open doors you never knew were there. And these are here to challenge your perspective and, who knows, maybe even unlock your next big idea.

Jump to Section

• What Is a Hypothetical Question?
• Interesting Hypothetical Questions For Students
• Funny Hypothetical Questions For Friends
• Hypothetical Questions For Couples
• Weird, Dark Humor Hypothetical Questions For Adults

What is a Hypothetical Question? 

A hypothetical question explores “what-if” scenarios that invite you to imagine possibilities beyond the current reality. Instead of asking for facts or things you know (like "What’s your favorite food or your favorite country?"), it invites you to stretch your thinking and explore how you or others might act given a situation (like "Would you get tired of your favorite food it you had to eat it for every meal for a month?" or "What is the first thing you'd do once setting foot in your favorite country?"). 

At their core, these critical thinking questions are often used to encourage reflection, as they require you to think outside the box and consider your choices, priorities, and personal beliefs. And because they often spark conversations about values and perspective, they work perfectly as ice breaker questions. 

Interesting Hypothetical Questions For Students

When I was a freshman in college taking philosophy classes, I’ll never forget that one class where my teacher asked what seemed to be a very simple question: “If technology could erase one human emotion, which should it be?”

That simple question transformed the class into a heated debate that lasted for an hour! Instead of a typical boring lecture, it became one of the best. If you’re looking for deep questions to ask your students and spark debate, these questions will do the trick. 

1. If technology could erase one human emotion, which should it be?

2. What would happen if phones were banned worldwide for a year?

3. If homework were optional, would students learn more or less?

4. If robots replaced teachers, would learning improve or get worse?

5. What would happen if grades didn’t exist?

6. If you could live on Mars but never come back to Earth, would you go?

7. ​​If everyone told the truth all the time, would life be better or worse?

8. Should you rather save five strangers or one family member?

9. If you could invent one new holiday, what would it celebrate?

10. If money didn’t exist, how would people trade?

11. Do school uniforms make life easier or harder?

12. If teachers and students switched roles for a week, what would happen?

13. If dinosaurs returned, should they live wild or in zoos?

14. If you could make one school lunch free forever, what would it be?

15. If you could make one new law for the world, what would it be?

16. Total freedom or total safety — which would you choose?

17. Would you steal food to save a starving friend?

18. If every person had to live by the same culture and traditions, would the world be better or worse?

19. Should the world share one universal language?

20. If you could visit one moment in history, which would you pick?

21. If you could talk to plants, what would you ask them?

22. If humans could live forever, would that be a good or bad thing?

23. What would happen if humans could breathe underwater?

24. If you could bring one fictional character to life, who would it be?

25. If you could meet any historical figure, who would it be?

26. If everyone had equal wealth, what would change?

27. If you could teleport anywhere for recess, where would you go?

28. If you could design the ultimate field trip, where would the class go?

29. If climate change could be reversed, but we had to give up electricity, should we do it?

30. Should time travel be allowed, or would it cause too much chaos?

31. If you had the power to stop all wars, but it erased music forever, would you do it?

32. If you could add one completely new subject to school, what would it be?

33. No governments: more peace or more chaos?

34. If you could create your own superpower, what would it be?

35. Should people be allowed to erase bad memories, even if it changes who they are?

36. Would you rather be the smartest or the kindest person in your class?

37. Should lying ever be acceptable?

38. If everyone read minds, would relationships improve or break?

39. If you could change one thing about the way you think, what would it be?

40. If you could erase one crime from history, which would it be?

41. Would you rather see the future or relive the past?

42. If you could instantly master any subject, which would you choose?

43. If animals could talk, which species would be the smartest?

44. If books disappeared and only movies existed, would people be more or less creative?

Funny Hypothetical Questions For Friends

“I can’t believe you’d actually pick that!” — that’s probably the line you’ll hear the most when asking these would you rather questions with your friends. These hypothetical questions let you peek into how they think about random scenarios, and chances are their answers will be completely different from yours. 

45. Whisper forever or shout forever?

46. If you suddenly turned into a dog, what breed would you be?

47. If you woke up with a tail, how would you hide it? Or would you show it proudly?

48. Only pizza crusts or only toppings forever?

49. If you could only use memes, which one would you use nonstop?

50. Laugh when others cry or cry when they laugh?

51. If you had to replace your hands with kitchen utensils, which ones would you pick?

52. If you could only drink one liquid forever, but it couldn’t be water, what would it be?

53. Would you rather forget everyone’s name or forget your own name daily?

54. If your laughter could cause earthquakes, how would the world survive?

56. If you could only eat one color of food for the rest of your life, which color would it be?

57. If you could swap lives with a cartoon character for a week, who would it be?

58. If you had to name your kids after fast-food items, what would their names be?

59. Would you rather swap voices with your best friend or swap wardrobes?

60. If you could bring back dinosaurs but they were the size of chickens, would you want them as pets?

61. What age would you prefer if you could go back in time and be any age you wanted for a month?

62. Would you rather have spaghetti for hair or maple syrup as sweat?

63. If your brain could be swapped with an animal’s for a day, which animal’s brain would be the funniest?

64. Would you rather be stuck in a rom-com with your best friend or in a horror movie with them?

65. What’s the worst thing that could happen if humans had to wear socks on their hands instead of their feet?

66. If your pet could suddenly talk, what embarrassing thing would it spill about you first?

67. Fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?

68. If you had to invent a new sport combining two weird activities, what would it be?

69. If you could instantly become an expert in something useless, what would you choose?

70. If you could swap noses with a celebrity, whose would it be?

71. Would you rather always have to talk in rhymes or sing instead of speak?

72. Tutu at serious events or tux at casual hangouts?

73. If you had a theme song that played every time you walked into a room, what would it be?

74. Would you rather live in a house made of Jell-O or one made of Lego?

75. Would you rather have to use a kazoo to communicate or interpretive dance only?

76. Would you rather sneeze glitter or fart confetti?

77. If you could only use one word for the rest of your life, which word would you choose?

78. Eat one weird food combo forever — which would you choose?

79. Smell like one food forever — what’s your pick?

80. If you had to wear shoes made out of food, what food would you pick for maximum durability?

81. If you were a Transformer, what car would you be?

82. Hiccup when laughing or burp when crying?

83. If you were the ruler of an island and could invite five people from history to live there for three years, who would you choose and why?

84. Ask your 2050 self one question — what is it?

85. If animals could text, which species would be the rudest?

86. Hop on one leg everywhere or crawl on all fours?

87. Daytime forever or nighttime forever?

88. Would you rather always have an itch you can’t scratch or always hear someone chewing loudly?

89. Bald for life or stuck with a giant mullet?

Hypothetical Questions For Couples

If you’re looking for a different type of date that breaks the routine, playing a couple of rounds of who's most likely to is a fun and engaging way to get to know your partner better. Combine that with these thought-provoking hypothetical questions for a night of fierce debate and getting to know each other on a deeper level.

90. If we could adopt any animal (real or fictional), which would we choose?

91. Spontaneous trip with me or plan months ahead?

92. If our love story was turned into a movie, what genre would it be?

93. If aliens picked you to represent humanity, what’s the first thing you’d say?

94. Would you rather have a rewind button or a fast-forward button for life?

95. Who’s most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse?

96. If happiness were a currency, what would make you the richest person alive?

97. If you could read my mind for a day, what’s the first thing you’d look for?

98. Read my mind or control my dreams?

99. Who’s most likely to laugh in the middle of a serious moment?

100. If we could only communicate with movie quotes, which movie would you pick as our “language”?

101. If you could know one secret about the universe, what would you ask?

102. Who’s most likely to befriend a stranger on vacation?

103. Who’s most likely to embarrass themselves in public?

104. Imagine a genie gave us the chance to live inside any fictional world — which one would you pick?

105. Would you rather know everything about my past or everything about my future?

106. If money didn’t exist, what would you spend your days doing?

107. If you were given the power to eliminate one food from the planet, what would it be?

108. If you could see 10 years into the future, would you want to?

109. If you had to choose a cheesy pickup line to describe us, what would it be?

110. Would you rather we never fight but get bored, or fight sometimes but never get bored?

111. What would you do to change the evolution of the human body if you could?

112. Would you rather always know the truth or always believe a comforting lie?

113. Who’s most likely to order dessert first?

114. What would you do if you were the last person left on Earth?

115. If we got matching tattoos tomorrow, what would they be?

116. Which company would you choose if you could be the CEO of any company?

117. If you had to teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

118. What would you say if the world were actually listening?

119. If I could give you a secret code word for "let's sneak away together," what would the word be?

120. If I were a talking animal, what species would I be and what would be an annoying thing I would say all the time?

121. Would you rather swap bodies with me for a week or swap jobs with me for a year?

122. Would you rather never use social media again or never eat your favorite food again?

123. What traits of mine would you hope our future children would have?

124. Which of your friends would you choose as your sidekick if you were a superhero? 

125. Who’s most likely to binge-watch an entire season in one night?

126. If you could invent anything, what would it be and why?

127. If you could make one wish right now, what would it be?

128. Would you rather go on endless small adventures together or on one huge trip of a lifetime?

129. Would you rather spend a year traveling the world or a year living in your dream house?

130. Who’s most likely to get lost even with GPS?

131. Who’s most likely to forget where they parked the car?

132. What would your ideal planet look like if you could design it?

133. If we could only eat one type of cuisine forever, what would you choose?

Weird, Dark Humor Hypothetical Questions For Adults

There’s no better feeling than knowing you can have an unfiltered conversation with someone who just gets you. Not everyone understands your humor, but for those who enjoy a bit of spice and a dark twist in regular conversations, these critical thinking questions are ideal.

134. Huge paper cut on eyelid or swallow five needles?

135. If you could only be remembered for one wildly inappropriate joke, what would it be about?

136. Eat a handful of hair or a bowl of toenails?

137. Teeth replaced with nails or nails replaced with teeth?

138. If every time you got a raise, one stranger lost their job, would you keep climbing the ladder?

139. Suppose you could end world hunger but you had to cancel Christmas forever — would you do it?

140. Would you give up 30 years of your life to save a stranger's life?

141. Would you rather vomit slugs once a month or cry blood every time you’re sad?

142. If you could steal one luxury item with a 100% chance of getting away with it, what would you steal?

143. Suppose you had to switch places with the last influencer you unfollowed — how would you live their life?

144. If you had to fail at one thing for your entire life, what would it be?

145. If your partner had a “skip intro” button, when would you press it?

146. Accidentally tell your boss “I love you” or send them a flirty meme?

147. Live with a swamp smell forever or permanent clown makeup?

148. Imagine your boss walked in on your browser history — would you rather it be your work searches or your late-night ones?

149. If you could make one thing that is now legal illegal and one thing that is illegal legal, what laws would change?

150. Suppose you had to swap lives with your least favorite ex for a year — how would you ruin it?

151. Walk in on your parents or have them walk in on you?

152. Would you rather live for another 50 years and never leave your house or live for another 10 years and be free to go wherever you want?

153. If your intrusive thoughts automatically become text messages to random contacts, who blocks you first?

154. If you could mute one type of person forever, who would it be?

155. Paper-thin bones or rubbery bendy bones?

156. Introduce your partner during a family fight or to your ex at a reunion?

157. Drink a shot of blood (yours) or eat someone else’s scabs?

158. Relive the same day repeatedly for three years or be hated everywhere you go?

159. If you could erase one fear but gain an irrational phobia in return, which would you choose?

160. If your life were rated like an Uber ride, what’s your star rating — and who gives you the worst review?

161. If you could solve one historical mystery right now, which would you choose and why?

162. What would be your dream last meal? 

163. Be caught sexting by your grandma or your boss?

164. Would you rather learn a lot about a little or a little about a lot?

165. Would you dare to give up true love for a million dollars?

166. If you were guaranteed a huge raise but had to trip one coworker every day forever, would you take it?

167. Would you prefer to have four legs or four arms?

168. Permanent bad breath or random diarrhea?

169. Who would you want as a mentor if you had the opportunity, and why?

170. Suppose your kid turned out to be a genius, but only at scamming people — would you encourage it or shut it down?

171. Would you rather have to pay for everything in pennies or have to use a pogo stick as your only method of transportation?

172. What do you think would happen if there were no seasons at all?

173. Imagine your entire search history is carved on your gravestone — what would be the most awkward line?

174. Drink sour milk every morning or eat raw chicken weekly?

175. If you found out your parents had an OnlyFans, would you subscribe just to know how much they’re making?

176. Would you rather be possessed by a ghost forever or marry a vampire who drinks your blood nightly?

177. Would you rather your biggest secret be tattooed on your forehead or broadcast as a Super Bowl ad?

Whether you want to discover a new side of your partner, have a laugh with friends or spark debate in the classroom, hypothetical questions are a great way to get people thinking outside the box. And the best part? Everyone gets to be creative, sharing their unique perspectives all without judgment. For more fun ideas to keep the conversation going, you can ask a few trick questions for a mind-bending experience.   

For even more fun experiences that aren't hypothetical, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!