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Tap a straw to pull it (/)
Names
Add at least 2 names. Or 12. Whatever this argument requires.
Drawing straws is one of the oldest ways people have settled things fairly. You hold a bunch of straws (or grass stalks, reeds, or broken twigs) in your fist so only the tips show, all looking the same length. Everyone pulls one, and whoever draws the shortest is chosen.
It is a form of "drawing lots," a practice recorded for thousands of years. In the Book of Jonah, sailors caught in a storm drew lots to find who was to blame. The short straw fell to Jonah, who was thrown overboard to calm the sea.
- Traditionally the short straw is the loser: the one stuck with the unpleasant job. That is where "the short end of the stick" comes from.
- Sailors, soldiers, and settlers used it to hand out dangerous duties without anyone playing favorites.
- The phrase "draw the short straw" goes back to at least the 1800s.
Spinning a wheel to decide your fate is an old idea. Medieval art is full of the Rota Fortunae, the wheel of the goddess Fortuna, who turns it to lift some people up and drop others down at random, a symbol of how quickly luck can change.
Money wheels at carnivals and the giant spinning wheels on game shows turned it into a pop culture icon that almost everyone recognizes.
- A fair spinning wheel is basically a circle shaped die. Where it stops depends only on friction, so a harder spin really is more random.
- Bigger wedges get landed on more often, which is why we give every name a fair slice of the wheel.
- The same physics powers roulette, invented in 18th century France.
Dice are among the oldest game pieces ever found. People were rolling six sided dice thousands of years ago, and tossing knucklebones from sheep and goats long before that.
The Romans loved dice. When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon to march on Rome, he is said to have declared "the die is cast," meaning the decision was made and there was no turning back.
- On a standard die, the numbers on opposite faces always add up to seven.
- A coin flip is just a two sided die, which is why we show a coin when you have exactly two names.
- Casinos use sharp edged "precision" dice so no face is favored, keeping the odds honest.
Popular ways to use it
The same fair draw, pitched at the moment you need it. Each has a quick guide.
Settle turn order for any game without the usual argument.
Short straw covers the check, fair over a year of dinners.
Giveaways and raffles with a result anyone can verify.
Call on students fairly; names stay in your browser.
Two names, one toss; three or more becomes dice.
Why Draw Straws?
Most online pickers ask you to take their word that the result was fair. Draw Straws does not. Every saved draw records the exact random bytes that chose the winner, and the result page replays them in your own browser so anyone can confirm the outcome was not nudged. It is the difference between a pick that looks random and one you can prove was.
Under the hood the picks come from crypto.getRandomValues, your browser's cryptographic random source, with rejection sampling so every name has exactly the same chance, no modulo bias and no server tricks. Spin a wheel, draw straws, or roll dice: the theatrics differ, the fairness does not. It is free, needs no account, and works on any screen from a phone to a classroom projector.
Common questions
Is Draw Straws really random?
Yes. Picks use the browser's crypto.getRandomValues with rejection sampling, so every name has exactly the same chance. The random bytes are recorded with each saved draw, and anyone can replay them to confirm the winner.
Why does the shortest straw lose?
Tradition. Drawing straws is an old form of drawing lots: straws are held in a fist so they look identical, and whoever pulls the short one is chosen for the unpleasant job. That is where "the short end of the stick" comes from.
How many names can I add?
From 2 up to 200 names, typed one at a time or pasted in bulk. With exactly 2 names, dice mode becomes a coin flip.
Can I verify a result after the draw?
Every saved draw stores the exact random seed used. The result page replays that seed in your own browser and confirms it produces the recorded winner. No trust in the server required.