Latke or Hamantash?

As I sat here thinking about famous debates of American history, I could only think of only major political events that stirred up debates that were quite serious. I decided to go with famous debates that were quite entertaining but yet still enabled to make a outstanding impact on society. As I googled "funniest debates in history" I stumbled upon a great book entitled The Great Latke and Hamantash Debate by Ruth Cernea. Wondering why I had never heard of such a debate I decided to read up on it.

In November of 1946 at the University of Chicago numerous scholaraly individuals from around the nation gathered together to debate upon the major question. Latke or Hamantash? Basically, which is the more worthy food the potato pancake or the triangle purim pastry? It is said that "The latke and the hamantash are here revealed as playing a critical role in everything from Chinese history to the Renaissance, the works of Jane Austen to constitutional law." Scholars are frustrated with the question as the "latke" is proven more worthy with evidence that it is the circle of perfection (Plato's ideal form). However, there have been many attempts to counteract this argument.

Neverthless, this debate has impacted history and society. Initially started in 1946, the main purpose/goal of the debate was to "foster a sense of community" between Jewish students and professors at the University of Chicago, which has been an issue of concern for the student body. During that time, diversity and equality was a major concern.The debate has managed to acheive its goal plus more as it not only established a sense of community between the Jewish Students and professors at the University of Chicago, but has become, for the past six decades, an annual event that has permeated through countless institutions/colleges.