History Main / TheThreeCertaintiesInLife

* [[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Team 3-D (The Dudley Boys)]] had a T-shirt in Wrestling/{{TNA}} that had "Death, Taxes, Tables" on the back.

* An old adage among comic book fans is, "There are only three people who [[ComicBookDeath stay dead in Comics]]: [[Franchise/SpiderMan Ben Parker,]] [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Jason Todd,]] [[Franchise/CaptainAmerica and Bucky Barnes.]"] [[SubvertedTrope The fact that two out of three have come back to life should tell you all you need to know about death in comics.]]

* An old adage among comic book fans is, "There are only three people who [[ComicBookDeath stay dead in Comics]]: [[Franchise/SpiderMan Ben Parker,]] [[Franchise/Batman Jason Todd,]] [[Franchise/CaptainAmerica and Bucky Barnes.]] [[SubvertedTrope The fact that two out of three have come back to life should tell you all you need to know about death in comics."]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* An old adage among Comic Book fans is "There are only three people who [[ComicBookDeath stay dead in Comics]]: [[Franchise/SpiderMan Ben Parker,]] [[Franchise/Batman Jason Todd,]] [[Franchise/CaptainAmerica and Bucky Barnes.]] [[SubvertedTrope The fact that two out of three have come back to life should tell you all you need to know about death in comics."]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Wiki/TVTropes describes {{Shipping}} as one of the fundamental forces of nature, along with Death and Taxes.
* In ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'' "Ben Franklin vs. Billy Mays", Franklin asserts that his victory is ''more'' certain than death or taxes.
[[/folder]]

* In [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA Sports']] ''FIFA 2010'', matches involving [[BritishFootyTeams Chelsea FC]] may feature small anecdotes, as told by the game's commentators, about the club's history and rise to form as one of England's powerhouse clubs during lull moments in the game. One such anecdote includes Martin Tyler remarking on how Chelsea once used to be the ButtMonkey of many jokes amongst comedians, including one such joke, "Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and Chelsea keeps building up only to disappoint."

%%* A RunningGag in ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''.

[[AC: {{Film}}]]

* A RunningGag in Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

* From ''Series/PrisonBreak'':
--> '''Agent Mahone:''' Three things in life are certain... death, taxes, and the fact that a man on the run will make a mistake sometime in the first 72 hours.
** Earlier, in the first season:
--> '''Sucre:''' There are three things that are certain in life: death, taxes and count.

* A gag on ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'' once compared being invited to one of Hyacinth Buck... err... [[{{It Is Pronounced Tro-Pay}} Bouquet's]] candlelight suppers to the inevitability of death and taxes.

[[AC: Music]]

[[AC: NewspaperComics]]
* A ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' strip had a variant: "Death, taxes, and teddy bears. Three things you can always count on."
* A vintage Sunday ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' comic strip where Lucy, holding a football, challenged Charlie Brown to name three things that are certain. Charlie Brown guessed Death and Taxes but drew a blank at the third...until Lucy pulled the football away. "It was so obvious, Charlie Brown."
* One ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' strip had the father saying, "The only things certain in life are death and taxes." The teen continues, "And homework." The mom finishes it off by thinking, "And knowing I'll get stuck with the dinner dishes."

[[AC: Other]]
* One proverb of anonymous origin observes, "Only three things in life are certain: birth, death, and change."
* Another of unknown origin argues, "There are only three certainties in life; The laws of physics, [[FinaglesLaw the laws of Murphy]], and death."
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Lloyd Seth Lloyd]], a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, once remarked,
--> "Nothing in life is certain except death, taxes and the second law of thermodynamics. All three are processes in which useful or accessible forms of some quantity, such as energy or money, are transformed into useless, inaccessible forms of the same quantity. That is not to say that these three processes don't have fringe benefits: taxes pay for roads and schools; the second law of thermodynamics drives cars, computers and metabolism; and death, at the very least, opens up tenured faculty positions."
* [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart Charles II]] is alleged to have said, "There are three things in life that are certain: death, taxes, and [[UsefulNotes/BritishWeather that it is raining in]] [[UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry Tavistock]]."

* A book about the Selectividad[[note]]An exam that is required in Spain to take in order to be able to go to the University[[/note]] begins, ''Cynics say there're two things certain in life: death and taxes. Students know there's a third: Selectividad''.

[[AC: ProfessionalWrestling]]
* In a 1993 story arc involving an inter-promotional feud between the Wrestling/{{WWE}} and USWA, Wrestling/{{Vince McMahon}} cut a promo in which he said that the three guarantees in life were [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I3mGNF1cLg Death, Taxes, and Randy Savage.]]

[[AC: {{Theatre}}]]

[[AC: VideoGames]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

-->You know, there are three things we're never going to get rid of here in Springfield: one, the bats in the public library -- ''scene switch to man opening card catalog and screaming as bats fly out'' -- two, Mrs. [=McFierly's=] compost heap -- ''scene switch to huge compost pile and Mrs. [=McFierly=] rocking nearby with a shotgun, cackling'' -- and three, our six-term mayor, ''scene switch to Quimby watering a marijuana plant'' the illiterate, tax-cheating, wife-swapping, pot-smoking, spendocrat Diamond Joe Quimby.

-->Hey! [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne I am no longer illiterate!]]

[[AC: RealLife]]

''There are three certainties in life: Death, Taxes, and [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife TV Tropes Ruining Your Life]].''

* TVTropes describes {{Shipping}} as one of the fundamental forces of nature, along with Death and Taxes.

The Three Certainties In Life can either be a [[ComedyTropes Stock Joke]] or a {{Stock Phrase|s}} that is mostly inspired by the quote often attributed to Creator/BenjaminFranklin, "Nothing is certain but death and [[IntimidatingRevenueService taxes]]."

The Three Certainties In Life can either be a [[ComedyTropes Stock Joke]] or a {{Stock Phrase|s}} that is mostly inspired by the quote often attributed to Creator/BenjaminFranklin, "Nothing is certain but death and taxes."

See Also: RuleOfThree, TheTriple, and TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers. Compare with: ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and ThereAreTwoTypesOfPeopleInTheWorld.

See Also: RuleOfThree, TheTriple, and TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers. Compare with: ArsonMurderAndJaywalking.

* There are only three certainties in life: Death, Taxes and [[Series/EurovisionSongContest Cyprus and Greece giving eachother 12 points.]]

''[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Three things are certain in life]]: death, taxes, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking people understanding what this trope is about by the time they finish this sentence]].''

* One proverb of anonymous origin observes, "Only three things in life are certain: birth, death, [[{{Irony}} and change]]."

* One proverb of anonymous origin observes, "Only three things in life are certain: birth, death, and change."

* If you play [[Creator/BlizzardEntertainment Blizzard]] games three things are certain in life : death, taxes and [[DevelopmentHell soon]][[TradeSnark ™]].

* Yasuo of ''VideoGame/LeagueofLegends'' has his own take on this phrase as one of his jokes.

//

-->You know, there are three things we're never going to get rid of here in Springfield: one, the bats in the public library -- ''scene switch to man opening card catalog and screaming as bats fly out'' -- two, Mrs. [=McFierly's=] compost heap -- ''scene switch to huge compost pile and Mrs. [=McFierly=] rocking nearby with a shotgun, cackling'' -- and three, our six-term mayor, ''scene switch to Quimby watering a marijuana plant'' the illiterate, tax-cheating, wife-swapping, pot-smoking, spendocrat Diamond Joe Quimby.//

-->You know, there are three things we're never going to get rid of here in Springfield: one, the bats in the public library -- ''scene switch to man opening card catalog and screaming as bats fly out'' -- two, Mrs. [=McFierly's=] compost heap -- ''scene switch to huge compost pile and Mrs. [=McFierly=] rocking nearby with a shotgun, cackling'' -- and three, our six-term mayor, ''scene switch to Quimby watering a marijuana plant'' the illiterate, tax-cheating, wife-swapping, pot-smoking, spendocrat Diamond Joe Quimby.