Rule of Three: Difference between revisions
Rescuing 3 sources and tagging 0 as dead. #IABot (v2.0beta9)
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** Other Tolkien examples: there are three [[The Silmarillion|Silmarils]], three Elven [[The Lord of the Rings|Rings of Power]], three races that got Rings of Power, three groupings of Elves of the Light, three ancient tribes of noble Men, three archaic clans of Hobbits, and three survivor states of Numenor (Arnor, Gondor, and Umbar). [[Big Bad|Melkor]] disrupts the Music of the Ainur three times.
** There are also nine Nazgul. Nine is thrice three, and a very important number in [[Norse Mythology]].
* Dennis Dutton might have some good points about the flaws in Christopher Booker's ''[[The Seven Basic Plots]]''[https://web.archive.org/web/20180731130608/http://www.denisdutton.com/booker_review.htm
{{quote|Dutton: ...while there are three bears, three chairs and three bowls of porridge in Goldilocks and the Three Bears,* there are actually four characters. The story would better support Booker* s theory were it ''Goldilocks and the Two Bears''.}}
* In ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]], the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Present do not change Scrooge's mind. It is the third ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Be, who convinces Scrooge to change his ways.
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** Also Jagers only get 3 tries to steal Old Man Death's hat.
* ''[[MS Paint Adventures]]'' has this during the Problem Sleuth story. Three detectives, three dames, three gentlemen, three faces for DMK. Threes are everywhere in that story.
* The latter entries in [[Bug Martini|Bug]] tend to have one panel of set-up, followed by three more panels, each with a mini joke within them. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130514113159/http://www.bugcomic.com/comics/random-thoughts/ Random Thoughts]" is a good example of this trope in action.
* ''[[Bob and George]]'' [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/001105c With commentary explaining why two failures and a success make a good pattern.] [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/001113c And again here.]
** Also, three strips in a row of thought bubbles when carrying out a plan hatched by [[Dumbass Has a Point|Bass]], all of which ended in them questioning the wisdom of taking tactical advice from the resident [[The Ditz|ditz]]. Summarised version:
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*** And Count Raimondo Montecuccoli (1609-1681), who wrote that to wage war you need three things: Money, money and money.
** The three most important things to remember about real estate purchases: "Location. Location. Location."
* Ancient Jewish and Arabic custom allowed a man to divorce his wife by simply declaring 'I divorce you' three times. It has resulted in at least one incident where a man [https://web.archive.org/web/20080724210616/http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/03/28/man_accidentally_divorces_wife_in_sleep/ accidentally divorced his wife.] (Or well, almost divorced her; turns out Islamic law, like any other half-decent legal system, does not allow you to make decisions like that while you're asleep.)
** 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).
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