Rule of Three: Difference between revisions
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[[Schoolhouse Rock|Three is a magic number.]]
The '''Rule of Three''' is a pattern used in stories and jokes, where part of the story is repeated three times, with minor variations. The first two instances build tension, and the third releases it by incorporating a twist.
This is especially common in storytelling. [[Youngest Child Wins|The third of three brothers succeeds after his older siblings each failed.]] The protagonist is given three tests and receives the prize after the third. It's almost unusual to find a folktale that does ''not'' incorporate the rule of three in some form. This may be an artifact of the oral tradition, in which the stock formula of the first, second, and third attempt makes the story easier to remember.
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Alternatively, the twist can come during the second iteration (such as [[Chekhov's Skill]]) [[Subverted Trope|failing the first time it's used]] only to return to its original form on the third pass; this version tends to accompany [[This Index Will Be Important Later|Chekhov's tropes]].
The [[Overly Long Gag]] could be seen as a subversion of the
In art, there's a rule of ''thirds'' where putting items in the intersections between thirds-lines draws more attention and is more visually appealing than plonking them right in the center, which is considered boring. In design, particularly three-dimensional design such as shop displays, groups of three objects, or objects arranged to form a triangle, are considered most attractive to the eye.
The Rule
A constructed phrase such as "Veni, Vidi, Vici." that has three grammatically and logically connected elements is known as a Tricolon. When the three elements increase in length, it's a Tricolon Crescens.
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{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* It's a general
* ''[[Nick
* "[[Head On]], apply directly to the forehead. [[Head On]], apply directly to the forehead. [[Head On]], apply directly to the forehead."
** And its lesser-known sister ad: "Freedom from hemmorhoids, FREEdHEM hemmorhoid cream. Freedom from hemmorhoids, FREEdHEM hemmorhoid cream. Freedom from hemmorhoids, FREEdHEM hemmorhoid cream."
* A Toyota commercial has a hybrid car speeding along with three black horses, three white horses, three hang-gliders, and three fighter jets to show that [[Lighter and Softer|soft]] and [[Darker and Edgier|edgy]] can get along.
== Anime and Manga ==
* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'' episode 9 has Moa blowing up Giroro and Keroro twice in a row. Then it happens a third time, and the [[Lemony Narrator|narrator]] explains that this is due to the conventions of humor.
* In ''[[Dragonball Z]]'', before King Kai (King Kaio) agrees to train someone, they must make him laugh with a joke. Tien performs the multiform technique to create 3 bodies just before shouting the punchline. Thus making his joke 3 times funnier.
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* ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'': The ''third'' {{spoiler|Endless Eight episode}} has Itsuki state that {{spoiler|"We have entered an endless recursion of time."}} three times in a row.
* In ''[[Transformers Armada]]'', the ultimate weapon, the Hydra Cannon, is made of three smaller uber-weapons, the Star Saber, Skyboom Shield, and Requiem Blaster. Each of these is itself made of three Mini-Cons.
* Specifically invoked by Batou in ''[[Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)
* In ''[[One Piece]]''
** There are three Marine Admirals (not counting Vice Admirals): Borsalino, Issho, and Aramaki; the latter two are replacements for Kuzan (who resigned) and Sakazuki (who was promoted), Sakazuki himself having filled the position after Sengoku resigned, suggesting this is policy among the Marines.
** As well as three great powers: the Marines, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the Four Emperors
** The Monster Trio in the Strawhat crew consists of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
** There are three Ancient Weapons, Pluto, Poseidon, and Uranus.
** The number three seems to hold significance for Luffy’s [[Arch Enemy]] Marshall D. Teach, aka Blackbeard. He has three missing teeth [[Depending on the Artist|(usually)]], usually carries three muskets in his belt, his beard (after the [[Time Skip]]) has three braids, his crew uses a Jolly Roger with three skulls, and he is one of three different characters based on the historic [https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Blackbeard Blackbeard] (the others being Edward Newgate and Thatch, both of whom were murdered by Teach). This - along with several characters referring to Teach as “they” rather than “he”, plus odd shifts in personality - has led to the odd fan theory that Teach either has [[Split Personality|three separate personalities]] or is even more than one person, possibly three brothers who share the same body.
* In ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' there are three true Dragon Slayers: Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy.
** Also there was three active S-Class mages in the guild: Laxus, Erza, Mystogan. Then: Erza, Mirajane and Mystogan. Currently Erza, Mirajane, Gildartz.
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** And three Phantom Beasts. And three Wicked Gods. And the English manga was published as three series ([[Yu-Gi-Oh!]] for the first seven volumes, [[Yu-Gi-Oh!]] Duelist for Duelist Kingdom onward, and [[Yu-Gi-Oh!]] Millenium World, following the Duel City finals).
** ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX|GX]]'' even has three Kaiba [[Expy|expies]].
* The 3 kids Maurice, Maeter, and Linck in ''[[Eureka Seven]]'', as well as the number of times Nirvash and [[The End]] fight each other.
* ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' ends with 333 chapters. Many of the close friendships in the series are in groups of three.
* ''[[Dokuhime]]'' has triplet princes who were predicted to be the "perfect child, protecting child, and destroying child", the last one having a tell-tale birthmark (the king loved them so he marked the other 2 and raised them all the same). Sure enough, one is {{spoiler|posing as the deceased king}}, another is {{spoiler|the poison tester}}, and the 3rd {{spoiler|alone is a brilliant engineer but was so traumatized by seeing his father's death that he looks a lot younger and can't stop killing things}}, but that hasn't yet proved anything. Despite being triplets they no longer look the same: the one who's {{spoiler|posing as the king}} [[Younger Than They Look|looks older]] while the one who {{spoiler|is traumatized and can't stop killing}} [[Older Than They Look|looks younger.]]
* ''[[Vampire Game]]'' has 3 princes who are {{spoiler|the 3 "adopted" sons of the king. Well, 2 were adopted and the 1st was illegitimate}}.
== Comic Books ==
* Characters in "Sláine" (in ''[[2000 AD]]'') constantly refer to things in groups of three - three great silences, three sorrows, etc.
* [[Doctor Doom]] has always been motivated by three goals: One, utterly defeat his rival Reed Richards; two, conquer the entire world; and three, rescue his mother's soul from Mephisto. With the help of [[Doctor Strange]], the third goal has been completed, but he hasn't ruled out seeking revenge against Mephisto.
== Film ==
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* In the [[DVD Commentary]] for ''[[Mean Girls]]'', [[Tina Fey]] sarcastically notes that the scene where Cady & co. are trying to arrange for Aaron to catch Regina cheating on him follows "the comedy rule of twos" and that there should really be a third method they try.
* Claudia does indeed try to kill Lilli three times in ''[[Snow White: A Tale of Terror|Snow White a Tale of Terror]]'', but the first two are different from the original fairytale. She first tries to bury her in a mine cave-in and secondly by making trees fall in the forest.
== Jokes ==
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Michael Jackson was surprised to find himself in heaven, but even more surprised that he was once again black. "Saint Peter," he said, "I worked pretty hard to lighten my skin over the years. Can you fix it?" Half an hour later [[Billy Mays]] arrived in heaven with some OxiClean. }}
* Jokes in general tend to make very heavy use of the Rule of Three, especially those following the "Blonde/Brunette/Redhead" or "Nationality/Nationality/Nationality" formula.
== Literature ==
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*** Also, there are three Deathly Hallows themselves; the Resurrection Stone, the Invisibility Cloak, and the Elder Wand. They were created by the three Peverall brothers: the eldest was killed for the wand, the middle killed himself to be with his dead wife, and the youngest lived to old age by "hiding from Death" with the cloak. In the movie the first two brothers are mostly silhouettes while the third brother is (more or less) fully lit.
* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[Gaunt's Ghosts]] novel ''Only In Death'', "A traditional Tanith toast took three parts." So Larkin and Rawne toast "Old Ghosts," "Staying alive," and "Ibram Gaunt".
* In the classic [[MSTing]] of [[The Eye of Argon]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130517120248/http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html Mike and the bots] riff:
{{quote|Mike: When I think of wisdom, I think of three names: Solomon; [[Confucius]]; Grignr.}}
* In one of [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s novels, a new magic user of Native American heritage was surprised he had to do something 4 times where the Europeans were equally bound to do the same thing 3 times. The 4 directions, donchaknow!
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* In [[Devon Monk]]'s ''[[Age of Steam|Dead Iron]]'', LeFel tries to invoke this on Jeb Lindson—he shouldn't have to kill him more than three times.
=== Literature - Magazines ===
* [[Memetic Mutation|PROTIP:]] A trio of characters from different games is a standard ''[[Game Pro]]'' cover.
== Live
* It seems like standard procedure for the parents in a [[Dom Com]] to have three children. ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' (twice over,) ''[[Growing Pains (TV)|Growing Pains]]'', ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'', ''[[Roseanne]]'', ''[[The Nanny]]'', ''[[Full House]]'', ''[[Reba]]'' all involve the three children of the protagonists. The common reason seems to be that it covers all bases; the oldest can have typical teen problems (dating, driving, etc.), the middle can have the kid problems (first day of school, etc.), and the youngest can either sit and look cute or say random funny things. The big reason for the [[Cousin Oliver]] is to bring in another cute one when the child actors have the audacity to age and upset this delicate balance.
* Demonstrated extensively on ''[[The Daily Show]]''; subverted at least once.
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** This tendency wasn't lost on the writers of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', who'd spoof it on a regular basis.
{{quote|'''Crow (in Kirk's voice):''' We have had many wars like this in our own history. Our Civil War of Earth. Our World War one and two. Our Krinkleganglium Wars of Kromulon Thirteen...}}
* In ''[[Blackadder]] II'', the title character seeks the help of a wise woman when he falls in love with his manservant, 'Bob' (who, unbeknownst to Blackadder, is actually a girl in drag). She suggests three "cunning plans": first, he could kill Bob. When he rejects this she suggests he could kill himself, which he's no keener on. The third plan is to ensure nobody else ever finds out: "kill everybody in the whole world!"
** In the episode "Major Star", Captain Blackadder gives Lieutenant George three rules to follow during his drag-date with General Melchett: 1) Never remove your wig. 2) Never say anything. 3) Don't get drunk and let him shag you on the veranda.
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* This was actually very prominent in [[The Sopranos]]. Junior superstitiously believes that it applies to real life, going so far as to hope that his old friend dies of cancer because . . . two of his friends have died of cancer already, and if a third meets the same fate, he'll be off the hook. Obviously cancer only targets three people of a given generation, right? It also plays into fan theories regarding the finale. Virtually every detail of the final scene evokes the number 3: there are 3 Sopranos at the table, there are 3 pictures on the wall, Meadow is able to successfully parallel park on her 3rd attempt. This brings Junior's "these things happen in 3s" theory to mind, suggesting that Tony really does die at the end to complete the trio that started with Bobby and Sil.
* [[Double Subverted]] with [[Adult Swim]]. In 2009, they aired ''[[The Room]]'' for [[April Fools' Day]]. In 2010 and 2011 they did this again. Surely they're doing something different for 2012, right? Uh oh, their airing that movie aga—THEY BROUGHT BACK ''[[Toonami]]''??? [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|AWESOME!!]]
* Lampshaded in ''[[30
== Music ==
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* [[Weezer]] has three self-titled albums, called Blue, Green, and Red [[Fan Nickname|by fans]].
* The ending of the ''2112 Suite'' by Rush:
{{quote|
Attention all planets of the Solar Federation.
Attention all planets of the Solar Federation.
We have assumed control.
We have assumed control.
We have assumed control.
* [[Emerson Lake and Palmer]] had an album called ''Trilogy'', though in a slight subversion it was their ''fourth'' album. However, it can be considered to have been their third if one ignores their ''Pictures at a Exhibition'' album, as many fans indeed do.
* In "Coward of the County" performed by Kenny Rogers, Kenny tells the story of Tommy, a man who believes in [[Turn the Other Cheek]]. Tommy has a loved one named Becky. One day the Gatlin Boys come a callin' and subsequently take turns at Becky. Kenny makes it a point to tell you there was three of them.
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* Speaking of classical music, ever noticed how so many great concertos have ''three movements''? Take your time, it's a BIG list.
== Newspaper Comics ==
* The irreducible simplicity of Ernie Bushmiller's ''Nancy'' depends in part on the principle of "the three rocks".
{{quote|Art Spiegelman explains how a drawing of three rocks in a background scene was Ernie's way of showing us there were some rocks in the background. It was always three. Why? Because two rocks wouldn't be "some rocks." Two rocks would be a pair of rocks. And four rocks was unacceptable because four rocks would indicate "some rocks" but it would be one rock more than was necessary to convey the idea of "some rocks." --Scott McCloud}}
== Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends ==
* Common in folklore. A selection:
** "[[Goldilocks]] and the Three Bears" is built around this trope. The chairs are too hard, too soft, and just right, the porridges are too hot, too cold, just right, and so on.
** In "[[Three Billy Goats Gruff|The Three Billy Goats Gruff]]", the 3rd and largest goat defeats the troll.
** "[[Cinderella (novel)|Cinderella]]" traditionally goes to the ball 3 times before losing her shoe. Later, the 2 step-sisters each try the shoe on before Cinderella steps forward.
** The "[[Three Little Pigs]]": the first 2 pigs' houses fail to ward off the Big Bad Wolf, while the 3rd's brick house remains sturdy.
** In the Grimms' "[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]]" story, the wicked Queen makes three attempts on Snow White's life (a cursed comb, strangling her with a bodice lace, and the famous poisoned apple).
** In
*** After he spun for her for three nights.
** In "[[Jack and the Beanstalk]]", Jack steals three treasures from the giant: a bag of gold, a goose that lays golden eggs, and a singing harp.
** "The Honey Princess": Three princes are set to accomplish three tasks in order to win three princesses' hands in marriage.
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20190710220635/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/rumpelstiltskin/stories/3spinners.html The Three Spinners]" help a girl against an impossible spinning task.
** In "[[Brother and Sister]]", it is the third stream that Brother drinks from; it is the third time he goes out to hunt that the king finds Sister; it was the third time she returned from the dead that her husband caught her and brought her back to life.
** In "[[East of the Sun and West of the Moon|East of the Sun West of The Moon]]", the heroine meets three women who give her gifts; she uses them to bribe her way to her husband, and the third time, he is not drugged to sleep.
** In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131207050226/http://surlalunefairytales.com/maidmaleen/index.html Maid Maleen]", when she is pretending to be the bride, she speaks to three objects; the bride must find out from her three times what she said, and the bridegroom figures out the substitution.
** In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130814130639/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/186truesweetheart.html The True Sweetheart]", the heroine goes to the ball three times.
** In [https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Golden_Goose "The Golden Goose"], the two older brothers refuse to share with the [[The Fair Folk| "little grey man"]] they encounter, and are punished with bad luck that causes them injury. The third - Simpleton, the protagonist - youngest brother shares with him, and the man rewards him by telling him where to find the eponymous Goose.
*** Also, in some versions of the story a King offers Simpleton his daughter's hand in marriage if he can complete three [[Impossible Task]]s, find someone who can eat a mountain of bread, find someone who can drink all the wine in the kingdom, and find a ship that can sail on both land and sea. Again, the little grey man he befriended is able to do all three.
* Anecdotes have plenty of examples. For an example, three nation anecdotes.
* Shows up all the time in religion:
** Christianity does this so much that 333 is used by people being ostentatiously Christian:
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*** "Jesus answered (Peter), Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice". - John 13:38
**** And then, after his resurrection, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, extracting from Peter a promise to continue his work three times before he leaves him alone. This is often regarded as a symbolic reversal of Peter's thrice-denial of Jesus before his death. Also cf. the Fight Club example above.
*** God has to tell Peter pork is OK to eat now three times before he listens.
*** The three Christian virtues: Faith, Hope, Love/Charity (Charity refers to ''agape'' or selfless love, as opposed to Eros as self-gratifying and/or sexual love).
*** Also, although the only reference to this event in the Gospels states that [[Jesus]] was placed "in a manger, because there was no room for them at the inn", Nativity plays tend to show two innkeepers telling Mary and Joseph to go elsewhere because all the rooms are taken—before a third also says that there are no rooms, but that Mary and Joseph may use the stable, since Mary is pregnant.
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* Hinduism : Three gunas (modes) of nature : goodness, passion and ignorance.
** [[Bhagavad Gita|Lust, Anger and Greed -- 3 gates to hell]]. Also gross, subtle and spiritual existence.
== Radio ==
* The character of Errol in [[The BBC]] series ''[[15 Storeys High]]'' always answers a question truthfully, if asked it three times.
== Tabletop Games ==
* Rather than using it as a trope, the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' setting ''[[Planescape]]'' and its video game spinoff ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' explicitly mention the Rule of Three in-story as a principle with cosmic validity. (''Everything'' involves the number 3 somehow. There are even three cosmic principles.<ref>The other two are Unity of Rings (an unbroken ring is the most perfect shape) and Center of All (because the multiverse is infinite size, you are always standing in the center of it, no mater where you are)</ref>) Since the world(s) of Planescape are [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|shaped by belief]], it's not impossible that that's true. If enough people believe it's nonsense, it won't be...
** There are enough [[Flat Earth Atheist]]s like Morte to disbelieve it, yet the rule persists for the reason that Morte gives, that minds have a tendency to create patterns. This tendency is perhaps stronger than belief, which is why the rule can be widely debunked yet the evidence of it still appears.
** One NPC adopts this principle and runs with it clear off the field. Calling himself "Rule of Three," he's an information broker who requires things in sets of three as his payment, and gives three true answers to any question. As a second character is known to associate with another of the three cosmic principles, it's suspected a third is out there somewhere as well, because... well, Rule of Three.
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* ''[[In Nomine]]'' has the three Realms, Corporeal, Ethereal and Celestial, which each have a type of Force associated with them, also there are three main types of supernatural beings, angels, demons, and ethereals.
* In Dungeon, a boardgame published by TSR and developed by, among others, Gary Gygax, to open a door, you have to roll for it three times. After the third time, you can just go through.
* The ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' game is full of trios. You're allowed to have three copies of one card in a deck (most of the time) there are three Harpie Lady Sisters, three components to Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, three components to Gate Guardian, three Egyptian God Cards (each of which require three sacrifices to summon) three Sacred Beasts, etc.
== Theater ==
* ''[[Cyrano De Bergerac]]'': This trope is combined with and [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: The gratuitous repetition of a question or a gesture for three or more times are shown in the play:
** [[Played for Laughs]]: At Act I Montfleury tries to say his lines four times, Cyrano orders him to disappear when Cyrano clap his hands the third time, the bore asks Cyrano three times if he has a protector. Lampshaded by Cyrano when he does not answer a three time:
{{quote|'''Cyrano''' ''(irritated):'' No, I have told you twice! Must I repeat?}}
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** During this speech, he also says "Brutus is an honorable man" three times. A fourth time he just says, "And sure he is an honorable man", by which time he's in full [[Sarcasm Mode]].
=== Theatre - Musicals ===
* In ''[[Animal Crackers]]'', after the song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding," Spaulding tries three times to give his welcoming address. The first two times, the chorus interrupts him with encores of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding." He interrupts his third attempt by singing it himself, then saying: "Well, somebody's got to do it."
* Erronius in ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is told to walk seven times around the seven hills of Rome. The first two times he re-enters and walks sloooooowly across the stage as the rest of the cast watch silently. The third time he gets run over during a chase scene.
* From ''[[Rent]]'': "Say something. Anything." "Test, one, two, three - " "Anything but that."
* One of the musical themes in ''[[The Magic Flute]]'', labeled "The Triple Chord," is three voicings of a B-flat major chord, each one repeated three times in a short-long-long pattern.
* In ''[[The Mikado]]'', Pooh-Bah gives a "toast with three times three" repeating the phrase "long life to you" three times. Most people who play the role ham the third time up even more than is called for in the script (which is quite a bit.)
* In ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (theatre)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'', Todd teaches Mrs. Lovett a pound-three-times signal.
* In ''[[Into the Woods]]'', the Witch tells the Baker and his wife that they must bring her the items "before the chime of midnight in three days time" in order to break the spell.
* In the [[Cirque Du Soleil]] show ''[[The Beatles LOVE]]'' a white VW bug appears several times. The third (or possibly [[Four Is Death|fourth]]) and final time {{spoiler|it smashes into a woman who represents John Lennon's mother who died in a car crash and bursts apart (the car, not the woman)}}.
* In ''[[The Music Man]]'', the piano lesson scene begins with Amaryllis practicing the same passage three times, always ending on the same wrong note. Mrs. Paroo plays the right note for Amaryllis the first two times, and Marian enters to correct her third try.
== Video Games ==
*
** Some platformers have it to where you must strike the enemy three times to finish the boss battle.
** There's also the very common three-hit combo attack.
** And let's not forget the three-star rating.
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' has the supreme Triforce: Power, Wisdom, Courage. Also the three Goddesses that go with it: Din, Nayru, and Farore.
** Also [[The Legend of Zelda CDI Games|three CDi games...]] [[Canon Discontinuity|maybe not]].
** Not only just Triforce, the Zelda games are littered with Three's: There are [[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|three Sacred Stones, three magical spells, three elemental arrows]], [[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|three Provinces covered in twilight, three Fused Shadows to collect]], [[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass|three fairies to save, and three metals from which the Phantom Sword is formed]], in addition to everything else listed.
** Several bosses will go down after three sets of attacks from Link. [[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|King Dodongo]], for instance, goes down after three bombs.
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** Many, many 5-player instances feature three boss fights.
*** And if their entrances don't have a singular quest giver (who usually comes with two bodyguards), it's usually a group of three.
== Web Comics ==
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* ''[[Derelict (webcomic)|Derelict]]'' [http://derelictcomic.com/?strip_id=12 The main character ponders them, related to survival: three minutes without air, three days without water, three months without food.] Then she wonders if she got it right. (Not exactly: three weeks without food is the rule.)
* Referred to by name in [[Zebra Girl]], by Sam (being Dangerously Genre Savvy is his thing) as an explanation for why he smacked their new ally three times: once for trying to attack him, once for not immediately joining his side, and once for talking with his mouth full.
== Web Original ==
* The [[YouTube Poop]] video ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgRUTAlu1-A Meet the Artillery]'' by electricthecheese does this by having an overly-long-gag of [[Team Fortress 2|Heavy Weapons Guy]] saying "GUN." After a while, there is a long, unedited period, and at the most unexpected moment, the Heavy makes a loud, virus-sounding noise and one of the [[Care Bears]] inexplicably pops in. Also, the Engineer introduces himself several times, and then the Heavy and Sniper introduce themselves as engineers as well.
* Used straight, then lampshaded in ''[[Life in A Game]]''. When Lollerskates assumes his [[Clipped-Wing Angel|final form]] during his [https://web.archive.org/web/20130603221044/http://www.lifeinagame.com/pages/episode62.html Final Showdown] with the heroes, all it takes is three shots to his [[Attack Its Weak Point|incredibly obvious weakpoint]] to finish him, which [[Halo|the Master Chief]] calls him out on after his defeat. Then he teabags him.
* [[Red vs. Blue]]'s "Son of a bitch!" running gag is usually done in threes, occasionally twisted with Spanish-speaking robot Lopez's "Madre de dios," subtitled as "Son of a bitch!"
** Also, when Simmons and Grif are facing down the tank in Season 1:
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* Hewy in ''[[Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews]]'' reviews ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]] 3'' for the third episode of his third season.
* In ''[[Zero Punctuation]]'', Yahtzee subverts this in his review of ''[[Just Cause]]''. He uses the title as a joke the first two times, where on the third he simply comments "how should I know?"
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[My Little Pony:
* In one ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' short, a clown runs by in the background three times. After the third and final time near the end of the cartoon, Babs dryly explains he's "a [[Running Gag]]".
** The plot of the episode is about Buster's quest to revive a joke he's driven into the ground (represented by a clown in a grave...morbid). The joke has this trope too: "A duck, a rabbit, and a pig go to a restaurant..."<ref>"...which hand do they use to eat their soup? Neither! They used a soup spoon!"</ref>
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* Combined with [[Inherently Funny Words]] in ''[[The PJs]]''. Thurgood is [[It Makes Sense in Context|working on a stand-up act]] and the book he got on how to be funny says things in three are funny as well as words with a hard k in them (like knish, tukas, fakakta). He logically assumes then that the funniest thing ever [[Refuge in Audacity|is KKK]].
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' uses this trope liberally for their gags. [[DVD Commentary]] also states the trope name for when a comedy uses a gag that involves three things.
== Real Life ==
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* Same thing in India, except we just call it [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|1st Term, 2nd Term, and 3rd Term.]] There are also three big exams each year, known as end-of-term exams or simply term exams, and three sets of holidays following the end of each term. The third one is the big summer vacation, which marks the end of the school year.
* Apparently the United States Marine Corps [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/25/AR2005102501550.html uses it too] (albeit with the fire team level as an exception). This is referred to as "triangularization" and was adopted by everyone from the German Wehrmacht in the 1930s. Previously, it was the rule of fours.
**Three gives a balance between forward and reserves, or pinning force and flanking force. If you have fours you will end up with having a disproportion of either or having to detach from one unit and attach to another with which it wasn't trained.
* The Rock, Paper, Scissors game (or Stone, Scissors, Paper, depending on where you are).
** Or the Malay version, which uses bird, water, rock.
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** While not current in divorce, three is still important in Jewish court matters. The smallest size of a court is three (since it's the smallest plural odd number, meaning no ties). Also, ''Hataras Nedarim'', a process done on Rosh Hashana Eve, involves collaring three friends who sit as a court and asking them that one's unfulfilled promises be annulled. The "court" repeats a small passage three times which effects the annulment. Similarly, a shorter version involves just saying the words "''mutar lach''" (you are released) three times. And there are three basic duties of a Jewish husband toward his wife - feeding her, providing her with cover, and satisfying her sexually.
* In sports, there's the Triple Crown (horse racing), and the "hat trick" (various sports, all involving 3 of an action, usually but not exclusively scoring).
** In Cricket, the hatrick is 3 wickets, 3 consecutive balls.
** Ice hockey's hat trick is three goals in a row by the same player, with no other player scoring between any of the three goals.
* Also (in Baseball) the Hitting Triple Crown—highest batting average, most home runs, most runs batted in—and the Pitching triple crown: most wins, most strikeouts, lowest earned run average.
* Baseball seems to run on this trope. Here are some examples:
** 3 strikes and you're out.
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** More than 3 balls is a walk.
** Thrice 3 innings in a game (without extra innings due to a tie).
* In American football, any score on the free play after a touchdown is worth one third of the normal value.
** Kinda sorta. A kick/PAT is considered something different from a normal Field Goal, and a 2-point conversion is considered distinct from an actual Touchdown. Partially, in that the players on both sides in the post-TD plays will usually be Special Teams/specialists, rather than the normal lineup, and they will normally not use the exact same plays used in other situations. Yardage is also irrelevant in these plays; it's either a score or nothing.
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* As mentioned on [[The Other Wiki]], [[Abraham Lincoln]] used the tricolon in more than one of his speeches, including the Gettysburg Address. "But, in a larger sense, '''we can not dedicate...we can not consecrate...we can not hallow''' this ground."
* From the Declaration of Independence, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" (borrowed from John Locke, who used "Life, Liberty and Property")
* And the French ''Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité''
* And the German ''Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit'' (Unity and Justice and Freedom).
** From a more... troubled... time in German history: ''"Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer''". ([[Dichter and Denker|One people]], [[Nazi Germany|one empire]], [[Adolf Hitler|one leader]].)
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* The saying 'Third time lucky!' -Which is the idea that if you fail twice, you will succeed the third time, not that it's actually true. It's also heard as "Third time's the charm!" in America.
* Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll.
* The powers of a State, are
* Several of the US space shuttle orbiter's systems are triply redundant, notably the Space Shuttle Main Engines, the fuel cells which generate electricity, and the auxiliary power units which provide hydraulic pressure to manipulate the orbiter's aerosurfaces and gimbal the three main engines.
* The signal for Help in Morse code consists of three letters (SOS) and each letter is comprised of three dots or dashes.
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