[[TheLegendOfZelda http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/triforce2.jpg]]
-->''Good things come in threes. So do bad things.\\
Good things come in threes. So do bad things.\\
Good things come in threes. So do bad things.''\\
--'''{{Planescape}}'''

''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. [[YoungestChildWins 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.

The rule of three is also used widely in comedy. Many popular jokes are based on three {{Stock Character}}s (e.g. Priest, Imam, Rabbi), all in the same situation. The first two react normally, the third does something ridiculous (but stereotypically in character). In Britain, ''Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman'' jokes denigrate either the Irishman as stupid, the Scotsman as a tightwad, or the Englishman as... I don't hear those ones 'cos I'm English. (For the record, when an American tells it, Englishmen are stuffed shirts.) This is why most Americans have [[BritainIsOnlyLondon never heard of Wales]]. Another (geeky) variant is the engineer/physicist/mathematician series of jokes, however, these are virtually never considered offensive, largely because the stereotypes are often jokingly accepted by the members of those three groups. (e.g. The engineer is overly practical, the physicist makes large assumptions, and the mathematician comes up with [[{{Ptitle3zaap0y7ym6o}} a correct, but useless answer]]; these are played up for humourous effect, but have some valid basis)

A more popular variation on the rule is to repeat the same joke or concept three times, but put a twist on the third one that makes it funny again.

A special variation is sometimes called "TheTriple", wherein a character lists three items, two logical and serious, the [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking third applying a twist or joke]]. For example, a character might say [[SammysGlassEye to a bald person]], "Can I get you anything? Cup of coffee? Doughnut? Toupee?" (From ''TheDickVanDykeShow''.)

The OverlyLongGag could be seen as a subversion of the RuleOfThree, because it fails to deliver the expected twist.

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 Of Three may be a subtrope of a more general psychological phenomenon, as threes are well-noted in all forms of culture. Films, books and plays come in trilogies. They have a ThreeActStructure, a Beginning, Middle and End. Counts of three elements are used widely in rhetoric, writing and myth: "Ready, aim, fire", "Veni, Vidi, Vici", "Lights, camera, action", "rhetoric, writing and myth". Just try and think about how many times you've heard the phrase, "On the count of three..."

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.

This is why there are [[PowerTrio Power Trios]].

Variations on this trope include uses of 5, 7, 12, and convienent multiples of five afterward (i.e., 25, 50, but not 35 or 70).

{{Sub Trope}}s include ThreeWishes, TheseQuestionsThree, [[ThirdTimesTheCharm Third Time's The Charm]].

Related to other [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_three rules of three]] [[InNameOnly in number only]].

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* ''Nick At Night'' has run commercials for itself, emphasizing this type of comedy bit and even going so far as to call it 'the triple'.
*HeadOn, apply directly to the forehead. HeadOn, apply directly to the forehead. HeadOn, apply directly to the forehead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* LampshadeHanging: ''KeroroGunsou'' episode 9 has Moa blowing up Giroro and Keroro twice in a row. Then it happens a third time, and the {{narrator}} explains that this is due to the conventions of humor.
* In ''DragonballZ'', 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.
* Just to reinforce exactly the course of action you ought to be taking...[[ShakuganNoShana "Urusai!]] [[{{Tsundere}} Urusai!]] [[RieKugimiya Urusai!"]]
* RuleOfThree is referenced in ''GoldenBoy'' by a couple of proverb-misquoting Yakuza members: "Even Buddha only waited three times."
* SuzumiyaHaruhi: The ''third'' [[spoiler:Endless Eight episode]] has Itsuki state that [[spoiler:"We have entered an endless recursion of time."]] three times in a row.
* Subverted in ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': Kittan starts to deliver a tricolon, but then decides at the end to add on one more element.
--> [[spoiler: This is Simon's... the Dai-Gurren Brigade's... humanity's... no, this is my soul!]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Fairy Tale}}s]]
* Common, which make this trope OlderThanDirt:
** ''Goldilocks and the Three Bears'' is pretty much 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 ''The Three Billy Goats Gruff'', the third and largest goat defeats the troll.
** ''Cinderella'' traditionally goes to the ball three times before losing her shoe. Later, the two step-sisters each try the shoe on before Cinderella steps forward.
** Of course, the ''Three Little Pigs'': the first two pigs' houses fail to ward off the Big Bad Wolf, while the third's brick house remains sturdy.
** In the Grimms' ''SnowWhite'' 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 ''Rumplestiltskin'', the title character gives the miller's daughter three days to [[IKnowYourTrueName guess his name]].
***After he spun for her for three nights.
**In ''JackandtheBeanstalk'', 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.
** ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/rumpelstiltskin/stories/3spinners.html The Three Spinners]]'' help a girl against an impossible spinning task.
** In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/brothersister/index.html 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 ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/index.html 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 ''[[http://www.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 ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/186truesweetheart.html The True Sweetheart]]'', the heroine goes to the ball three times.
** Other examples are plentiful.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''[[IndianaJones Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade]]'', Indy must pass three tests (The Breath of God, The Word of God and The Path of God) to get to the Grail temple.
* ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'': "Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see....". For bonus points, the trope is subverted four times; the first time, the three questions are all easy, so the knight easily crosses. The second knight unexpectedly receives a third, difficult question which results in his death, while the third knight unexpectedly gets an easy question again but fails to answer it correctly and dies. On the final set of questions, King Arthur subverts it again by asking a question back to the bridgekeeper, resulting in the ''bridgekeeper's'' death.
** Possibly five times, as instead of the usual three knights/questioners/Billy Goats Gruff, there's three plus Arthur.
---> One...two...five!
---> Three, sire.
---> Three!
** Additionally "...then thou shalt count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out."
** A deleted scene shows Arthur and Bedevere about to cross a lake, only to be accosted by the bridgekeeper again, who says, "He who would cross the Sea of Fate must answer me these questions twenty-eight!" After some deliberation, Arthur and Bedevere toss him into the lake and continue on their way.
* ''{{Airplane}}!''. During the landing sequence, Dr. Rumack (LeslieNielsen) steps into the cockpit three times and says "I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you" in exactly the same way: once as they begin the descent, once in the middle of the landing, and once after the plane is on the ground.
* RobertRodriguez wove multiple instances of the RuleOfThree into his scenario for ''ElMariachi''. Example: The BigBad, a heavy smoker, is twice seen striking a match off his resentful {{Dragon}}'s cheek; the third time it happens, the Dragon is doing it to the (dead) Big Bad. In his book, ''Rebel Without a Crew'', Rodriguez calls this "the kindergarten school of filmmaking", what he used to write a script that was interesting but also (and more importantly) ''quickly finished''.
* In ''PansLabyrinth'', Ofelia is assigned three tasks by the faun, who has three fairies as pets. When Captain Vidal is interrogating a stuttering prisoner, he offers him freedom if he can count to three without stuttering. He also shows off three of his torture implements. The stutterer was introduced as he read a newspaper about American, British and Canadian troops landing at Normandy. There are three doors in the Pale Man's lair, and three thrones in the Underworld.
* ''TheProposition'' features three brothers who are bandits in colonial Australia. Subverts the above-mentioned convention of the youngest brother succeeding by focusing on the middle brother, while the youngest is mentally handicapped and the oldest violently insane.
* In ''TheAddamsFamily'', Morticia is clearing out a closet and finds three bags. In bag #1, "Uncle Knick-knack's Winter Wardrobe". In bag #2, "Uncle Knick-knack's Summer Wardrobe". In bag #3, "[[{{Squick}} Uncle Knick-knack]]."
* In ''AnimalCrackers'', after the song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding," Spaulding tries three times to say a few welcoming remarks, and is interrupted the first two times by the chorus's encores of the song. He interrupts his third attempt by singing it himself, then saying: "Well, somebody's got to do it."
* Mustafa (played by Will Farell) in ''AustinPowers'' will only answer questions if asked three times.
* In NationalLampoon's ''Christmas Vacation'' Clark asks his cousin-in-law, Eddie, "Can I refill your eggnogg for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out into the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"
* ''[=~Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid~=]'' uses Reardon's BerserkButton thrice: the first time introduces it, the second incorporates it into a StockFootage gag, and the third time precipitates the {{climax}}.
* TheThreeStooges, of course. (Well, there were actually six of them, but never more than three in any one production.)
**On the other hand, the MarxBrothers arguably did their best stuff when there were four of them.
* {{Beetlejuice}}, Beetlejuice, okay, stopping now.
** Beetlejuice! Hey, man, say what's on this card!
*** ''No way, bub! I ain't fallin' for that CandleJack dude aga- Oh [[CurseCutShort sh]]''
**** Hah! Got him! Thanks Candle Jack, you're the b
* The swedish classic ''Äppelkriget'' (War of the Apples) takes this for a very odd twist. At one point the story segues into the backstory of three brothers who go to the city to find fame and fortune. On the way, they stumble over an old book, a carpet with a hole in it, and a dead bird, all of which the two eldest brothers reject, but the third brother takes with him, thinking that they "could be useful". When they apply for jobs, two brothers fail the psych test, but the third uses the book (a psychology textbook) and succeeds. The two eldest fail to impress the ladies, but the youngest wears his carpet as a trendy outfit and is an immediate hit. Later they're all broke, but the odor of decomposing bird leads the youngest to a stash of cash in an old recliner. Finally they've used up the money, and go back to the farm to hang themselves... and as it turns out, only the youngest managed to do that right, too.
* The [[FinalBattle Trench Attack]] from ''[[StarWars A New Hope]]''. First attack run, easily blown to pieces by [[RedBaron Darth Vader]]. Second run "[[AccidentalInnuendo Negative, it didn't go in.]]" Third run, Luke... well YouShouldKnowThisAlready.
* ''ASoundOfThunder'' combines this with a ShoutOut to ''CapricornOne'' when Hatton congratulates the first Time Safari customers: "Today you stood shoulder to shoulder with Columbus discovering America. Armstrong stepping on the moon, Brubaker landing on Mars."
* Mustafa in ''AustinPowers'' can't stand to be asked the same question three times, so he just answers after the third one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* "What I tell you three times is true", from ''TheHuntingOfTheSnark'' by LewisCarroll.
** "I tell you three times" is a password to the supercomputer in the science fiction novel ''Stand on Zanzibar'' by JohnBrunner.
** It's also the command for ''Gay Deceiver'' to store an instruction in permanent memory in ''The Number of the Beast'', by RobertAHeinlein.
*** Based on the design philosophy that any machine or computer your life depends on should have triple redundant failsafes. The 'tell you three times' protocol was admittedly a lazy shorthand in violation of his own principle. Zeb demonstrated himself what a bad practice it was by using it to execute commands faster than they can be given consideration, whereas three honestly separate steps may have prevented him from jumping the gun.
** A story by Raymond F. Jones in the February 1951 issue of Astounding Science Fiction was titled "I Tell You Three Times", and related to computer controls. Could this be the source of the two uses above?
* The absurdist holy book ''[[http://www.principiadiscordia.com/ Principia Discordia]]'' is based on a Rule of ''Five'', which bleeds over into such works of Discordian fiction as ''{{Illuminatus}}!''
* The alien race (dubbed the Ramans) that created the gargantuan space object in ''RendezvousWithRama'' by ArthurCClarke apparently do everything in threes -- triple motifs litter it. The last line of the novel uses this for a stinger. Years later, this fact served as a handy SequelHook for Clarke when he decided to [[strike: write follow-ups]] cash a check and let Gentry Lee write follow-ups.
* Literary/Comic/Film Example: ''{{Stardust}}'' The King of Stormhold has three remaining sons. Also subverts the youngest brother convention by making him pure evil, and the oldest a caring and decent man. The middle brother is a useless sex maniac. The youngest son is also the Seventh Son.
** Also subverted in that the King has four remaining sons. One is TooDumbToLive, and is quickly pushed out of the tower by his brother, who has an eye for opportunity.
* ''TheHobbit'': "Third time pays all."
** Other Tolkien examples: there are three [[TheSilmarillion Silmarils]], three Elven [[TheLordOfTheRings 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). [[BigBad Melkor]] disrupts the Music of the Ainur three times.
** There are also nine Naz'Gul. Nine is thrice three, and a very important number in NorseMyth.
* Subverted example: Sophie Hatter, in DianaWynneJones' ''HowlsMovingCastle'', begins the story well aware that, as the eldest of three girls, she can't expect to have any grand adventures. She also has a kind stepmother.
* Dennis Dutton might have some good points about the flaws in Christopher Booker's ''TheSevenBasicPlots''[[http://denisdutton.com/booker_review.htm]], but he really shows his ignorance of tropes when he tries to attack Booker's use of the RuleOfThree:
-->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 ''AChristmasCarol'' by CharlesDickens, 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.
** Not entirely true. By the end of the Ghost of Christmas Present's visit, Scrooge is shown a pair of [[StreetUrchin street urchins]] freezing to death and shows compassion for them, only to have his earlier harsh words thrown back in his face. The RuleOfThree still applies to the story structure, though.
* [[WilliamShakespeare Shakespearean]] examples:
** KingLear has three daughters to whom he intends to leave a third of his kingdom each. (However, he gets annoyed with the third one and ends up giving his kingdom to the other two).
** When [[spoiler:Mercutio]] is fatally stabbed in ''RomeoAndJuliet'', he curses the Montagues and Capulets three times ("A plague on both your houses!") before dying, thus ensuring that the curse comes true.
** ''The Merchant of Venice'' has three caskets, of which the third chosen is successful.
** ''{{Macbeth}}'' alone contains too many examples to count, most coming from the three witches.
** [[{{Discworld}} And therefore]] also the amount Witches like to assemble in, 'cause two is just an argument.
* In Dante's ''[[DivineComedy Inferno]]'', {{Satan}} has three faces, eternally chewing on Judas, Brutus, and Cassius.
* In the DresdenFiles books, all fae are bound by whatever they say 3 times. Harry mentions it several times throughout the books.
* In ''{{The Neverending Story}}'' Atreyu must pass three gates to reach the southern Oracle. (In the movie the third gate is left out and the first replaced with one that shoots laser beams. duh.)
* Several examples in the ''HarryPotter'' canon: Harry, Ron and Hermione form a PowerTrio, whilst Malfoy is always flanked by Crabbe and Goyle; three champions, one from each of the three wizarding schools, are supposed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, which itself is comprised of three challenges; there are three Unforgivable Curses and three Deathly Hallows.
** Note that the Triwizard champions example is a subversion, since Harry is an unexpected and unprecedented fourth competitor.
** Don't forget three Potters.
** In the seventh book, Luna, Neville, and Ginny make up their own trio.
** Also while they met more times Harry Defeated Voldemort ''three'' times: as a baby, in first year, and in final year.
* In DanAbnett's GauntsGhosts 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}}, [[http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html Mike and the bots]] riff:
-->Mike: When I think of wisdom, I think of three names: Solomon; {{Confucius}}; Grignr.
* This troper is fairly sure this was subverted and/or lampshaded in one of MercedesLackey'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!
* ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' didn't stop at the title for this one:
** The best known example would be the three heroes Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who not only became best friends but blood brothers.
** Liu Bei would later have to make three separate visits in order to convince the tactical sage Zhuge Liang to join them.
** Guan Yu would later become leader of his own three man team, with Guan Ping and Zhou Cang.
** Averted with Sun Quan, who's leading a nation while burdened by a legacy left behind by his father Sun Jian and elder brother Sun Ce, both of whom are dead. His close confidante Zhou Yu and sister Sun Shangxiang may constitute a new three in formation.
* [[GuyGavrielKay Guy Gavriel Kay's]] ''Last Light of the Sun'' features an in-character subversion. Alun ab Owyn, who comes from a culture that is very big on the Rule of Three, hears a creature roar two times. When it doesn't roar a third, he's surprised, until he realizes that triads are a human invention, and unrelated to ancient monsters.
* The ''third'' ''[[WarriorCats Warriors]]'' series is called ''Power of Three'', and has ''three'' protagonists.
*In [[TheNightAngelTrilogy The Night Angel Trilogy]] lessons at The Chantry (a women's school of magic) are taught in threes, supposedly for ease of recall.
* The concept of book trilogy to begin with. The best-known example is ''TheLordOfTheRings''. ExecutiveMeddling is what caused that one to be three books, though. It was intended to apparently be six.
** And mocked by the 'ever increasingly misnamed ''[[HitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Hitchhikers]]'' trilogy' (five books, sixth pending).
** Ref. ''TheLordOfTheRings'', maybe "hexology" would have been too much of a pun? After all, "hex" is also German/old-English for "witch" or "magical curse" (hence of course the FPS ''Hexen'').
* In a Sci-fi story "a little lubricant" (yes, ahoi DoubleEntendre) the ''third'' spaceship makes it back to Earth.
*The entirety of Wil McCarthy’s novel ''The Colapsium'' is structured this way. It’s broken into three “books,” ''Once Upon a Matter Crushed'', ''Twice Upon a Star Imperiled'' and ''Thrice Upon a Schemer’s Plotting'', and each begins with a nearly identical setup and set of challenges for the main character. But with each iteration, the complexity of the story takes a step up, until the final section, where everything goes to hell and plot threads from all three sections pay off. By the [[WordOfGod author’s own admission]], the novel was written as a modern hard-SF fairy tale, so RuleOfThree is used ''very'' deliberately.
*Lampshaded and made an explicit magical rule in the ''PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' books, where the number three is sacred (three Furies, three Fates, three sons of Kronos atop three thrones), and so Half-Blood heroes going on quests are allowed only two companions. Breaking this is seen to invite trouble.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
*Demonstrated extensively on TheDailyShow; subverted at least once (14/10/09, remember to link it when Comedy Central puts the link up).
--> '''Jon Stewert''': I know comedy typically comes in threes. We threw that fourth one in there because we like to **** with the ''structure''.
*Humorously subverted by Johnny Carson on one episode of the Johnny Carson show.
--> '''Johnny''' (reading a list of things he forgot to do in order of most recent to oldest): Call Marilyn Monroe to ask her to a dance...Call Marilyn Monroe to ask her to a movie...call Marilyn Monroe to ask to take her to dinner...remember to get Marilyn Monroe's phone number.
* "Hi, I'm Larry. This is my brother Daryl, and this is my other brother Daryl."
* ''StarTrek'' captains (especially Picard) would frequently list off three examples of some well-known cultural phenomenon. Typically, two of them would be what we would consider "classic" examples, and one would be either contemporary to us, or alien. For example, he might say, "Ah, yes, the great poets of history; William Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Zyglorty Mospiqxot of T'pingnit." Or, "I've always been interested in classical music; Bach, Beethoven, the Beatles." (''RedDwarf'' did this precise gag with "Mendelssohn, Mozart, Motorhead".)
** This tendency wasn't lost on the writers of ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'', who'd spoof it on a regular basis.
--->'''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...
*** One episode of Star Trek The Next Generation features this joke from a man claiming to be a historian from the 26th century. Talking to Geordi, he mentions several blind artists by surname, ending with (Stevie) Wonder. On rewatching this episode, one realises that this is meant to be a clue that he isn't from the future but from the 200 years in the past.
*** During one ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode, the Enterprise got caught in a time loop, [[GroundhogDayLoop reliving the same day over and over]] -- and that day always ended with the destruction of the Enterprise. Eventually they caught onto this and decided to program a message into Data's brain to be sent back into the rift on the next iteration, and hopefully help them avoid the collision that got them caught in the rift in the first place. During the next go-round, the number three continually appeared throughout the day (Data was subconsciously repeating the pattern) until the time of the collision came again. Left with two choices about how to avoid the accident (one suggested by Data, and one by Commander Riker), they noticed that ''three'' could refer to the number of rank insignia on Commander Riker's lapel. Therefore Riker's was the right idea, not Data's.
** Don't forget the main PowerTrio of [[TheKirk Kirk]], [[TheSpock Spock]], and [[TheMcCoy McCoy]] in the Original Series.
* 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.
* In the ''{{Lost}}'' episode "The Moth," Locke tells Charlie he will give him his heroin back only on the third time Charlie asks for it. On the DVD commentary, the writers and Dominic Monaghan joke that Charlie could have just said, "Give me my drugs, give me my drugs, give me my drugs."
* Subverted (as is almost everything) on ''SheSpies'', Cassie and Shane each offer one possible, lightly humorous, explanation for an occurrence and then DD offers a third one, no funnier than the first three. The other two girls stare at her and she declares, "The third one doesn't always have to be funnier, you know!"
* ''{{House}}'' has the episode ''Three Stories'' which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin although the stories begin to intertwine and House is trying his best to confuse the medical students about what story they are currently listening to.
* ''{{Babylon 5}}'' has this all over the place, especially in the case of the Minbari: Three castes, the ruling body consists of three individuals from every caste so 3 times 3, three languages, the most holy artifact is a triangle - and they have three of them)
* In the second episode of ''HowIMetYourMother'' ("Purple Giraffe"), Ted throws three consecutive parties because he wants to "casually" talk to Robin, who happens not to be able to come at the two first ones.
* [[{{Charmed}} "The power of three will set us free! The power of three will set us free!"]] I mean, come on, people.
** But you only said it two times...
* [[{{TheBigBangTheory}} (knock knock knock) Penny! (knock knock knock) Penny! (knock knock knock) Penny!]]
* ProfessionalWrestling is fond of this in some forms, ranging from the 'Triple Threat' match (3 fighters) to audience chants; one of the most popular is to match 3 syllables (e.g. 'R V D! R V D!' for Rob Van Dam). The other popular chant format? Four syllables and five claps ('You're a loser!' * * ***), which adds up to nine.
*Countless game shows have three contestants per episode. ''{{Jeopardy}}!'' and ''WheelOfFortune'' are the best known.
*Nearly every joke on ''Desperate Housewives'' follows this trope. All of Mary Alice's narratives will contain 3 examples followed by the main point.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* The Blue Man Group has kept itself to exactly three performers because it's the smallest group possible where you can have someone excluded somehow, a recurring factor used for a lot of their humor. (The Blue Men really only have individual personalities insofar as each one winds up doing several things -- the more oddball the better -- that cause the other two to look askance at him.)
* Earth, Wind, and Fire.
* The band The Early November (other bands have probably done this as well, but this is the only one I'm aware of) came out with a triple CD release, the collective name being The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path.
* Once upon a time, 3/4 time in music was considered the "perfect" time signature, and 4/4 was "imperfect." They were thus indicated with a circle (a ''perfect circle'') and an incomplete circle, respectively. The former has passed into obscurity, but the latter has morphed into the lower-case C we know today. Averted nowadays, of course; very few popular songs are ever in 3/4 time, and the "C" is commonly believed to stand for "common time."
* Three chords is the stereotypical minimum for uninspired, bland pop/rock. Or, it could be intentional, "Three chords and the truth." Either way, you'll rarely see music with less, but plenty with just three.
*Canadian musician Joel Plaskett has recently released a triple album called, fittingly "Three". It even has a lyric stating "good things come in threes."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Musical]]
* 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.
** Speaking of Rome, many legal matters in the real ancient Rome were performed by simply stating what you were doing three times in front of witnesses, i.e. if you were marrying someone, you would say "I marry you" three times, making this OlderThanFeudalism.
* From {{Rent}}: "Say something. Anything." "Test, one, two, three - " "Anything but that."
* One of the musical themes in ''TheMagicFlute'', 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.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myth And Legend]]
* The preponderance of triune goddess figures (Maiden/Mother/Crone, Past/Present/Future, [[AhMyGoddess Urd/Belldandy/Skuld]], The Furies, etc.) from mythologies the world over. See also TheThreeFacesOfEve.
* Shows up all the time in religion:
** Christianity does this so much that 333 is used by people being ostentatiously christian:
*** TheBible: 3 days pass between Jesus dying and returning to Earth. In fact, whenever a number is mentioned in TheBible, it's usually 3, 7, 12, or 40.
*** "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
*** Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
*** Faith, Hope, Love/Charity (note that love and charity are never separated, because there can't be 4 gifts of the spirit).
*** The famed Three Wise Men, also known as the Magi or the Three Kings attending the birth of [[TheBible Jesus]] are traditionally named Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar, with [[FiveTokenBand one Greek, one African and one Indian]]. The introduction to the fictionalized Christmas story ''The Day Christ Was Born'' [[LampshadeHanging points out]] that neither number nor names are mentioned in the source text, but naming them thus "sounds a lot better than saying 'an indefinite number of unnamed Wise Men arrived from the East'."
*** 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.
** Neopagan religions have the "rule of 3", meaning (depending on who you ask) that everything you send out into the world either comes back to you 3-fold, or comes back to you on the astral, mental and physical planes.
** Wicca centers around the triple goddess: Maiden, Mother and Crone.
** Ancient mythologies throughout Eurasia have the triple fate. The most famous example is the Norse, with Urd, Skuld and Verdandi. They sometimes correspond to past present and future.
*** Any connection to the triple goddess, to the best of this troper's knowledge, is pure NeilGaiman.
**** Although there are many triplicate goddesses in various mythologies, such as Hecate or the Norns, the distinction into the Maiden, Mother and Crone wasn't coined before the 19th century.
** Some Hindu writings regard Brahma (creation), Vishnu (preservation) and Shiva (destruction) as the most central deities. Others pick Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Kali, their respective consorts.
** This pops up occasionally in Judaism, too, though generally not as centrally:
*** The world is sustained by worship, study and deeds of lovingkindness.
*** These temper judgment's severe decree: prayer, repentance and charity.
*** In {{Kabbalah}}, the TreeOfLife has 3 pillars: The pillar of rigor, the pillar of mercy, the pillar of balance.
* Several examples from SpeakOfTheDevil, including the ''{{Freakazoid}}'' "Huggbees", ''{{Beetlejuice}}'', Hastur, Pazuzu, Chrestomanci, and Bloody Mary.
* Many (if not all) religions divide reality into Heaven, Earth and Hell (in Norse religion, these are called Asgard, Midgard and Niflheim respectively). Talking of Norse religion, the name "hell" comes from Hel, the goddess of the Norse underworld.
** For the Norse, the universe was divided into nine (thrice three) worlds on three levels: the upper level had Alfheim (elves), Asgard (war gods and those who died in battle), and Vanaheim (fertility gods). The middle level has Midgard (humans), Jotunheim (giants), Svartalfheim (dark elves), and Nidavellir (dwarves). The [[HailfirePeaks bottom level]] has Niflheim (those who died of disease) and Muspell (fire demons).
* In Greek legend, the three-headed dog Kerberos (far more usually known by the Latinised name "Cerberus", for some reason) guards the gateway to Hell to prevent anyone escaping.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* The character of Errol in TheBBC series ''15 Storeys High'' always answers a question truthfully, if asked it three times.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
* Rather than using it as a trope, the ''DungeonsAndDragons'' setting ''Planescape'' and its video game spinoff ''PlanescapeTorment'' explicitly mention the RuleOfThree in-story as a principle with cosmic validity. (''Everything'' involves the number 3 somehow. There are even three cosmic principles.) Since the world(s) of Planescape are [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve shaped by belief]], it's not impossible that that's true. Of course, if enough people believe it's nonsense, it won't be...
** There are enough [[FlatEarthAtheist Flat Earth Atheists]] 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, RuleOfThree.
* In the Living Greyhawk campaign, a magic item spoke three prophesies of destruction that the players could attempt to prevent.
** Almost subverted in the fact that the original editor was only going to let the item speak twice, because the Big Bad had already received the first prophesy. But, then a change in editors mandated that [[ViewersAreMorons the audience is stupid]].
* I'm not sure about most WorldOfDarkness games from White Wolf, but their StreetFighter licence had three types of items: Attributes, Abilities, and Talents, I think (I lost my copy, sadly).
* In ''MageTheAwakening'', mage tradition dictates that a mage owes three favours to any mage who acquires their soul stone (a piece of their soul distilled into physical form for power).
* DungeonsAndDragons for special defences: Fortitude, Reflex, Will.
** The physical stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution. The mental stats: Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma.
* ''DogsInTheVineyard'' is geared for groups of about three PCs, and Three In Authority is one of the most powerful rituals against demons (a two-PC group can pull it off with help from the NPC town elder).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Can't believe nobody else thought of the freaking [[LegendOfZelda Triforce]]! Power, Wisdom, Courage. Also the three Goddesses that go with it: Din, Nayru, and Farore.
**Also [[TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames three CDi games...]]
*** '''[[DisContinuity No.]]'''
**Not only just Triforce, the Zelda games are littered with Three's.
***For the most part, all the bosses in Windwaker have 3 forms.
** [[TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Three days...! Three days...! Three days...!]]
* Not to mention all of the Mario games! In almost every Mario game, there's a boss that requires either three hits to kill or has three phases.
* In the ''{{Ultima}}'' series, the Virtues were organized in overlapping threes; three Virtues are based directly on one of three Principles, three were based on a combination of two Principles to form another trinity, and one Virtue is based on all three Principles. One Virtue stood as a Unity of the three groups of three.
** The games themselves are organized into three trilogies. The first three are the Age of Darkness, when most of the land is filled with monsters and dominated by the evil Triad. The second three are the Age of Enlightenment, as Lord British cultivates civilization and an ethical foundation based on the Virtues; in this arc the Codex of Infinite Wisdom is first brought from the Void, and then returned to share with another civilization. The final trilogy, involving the Avatar's nemesis the Guardian is actually spread over five chapters, including VII Part 2 and Ultima Underworld II.
* In the ''RatchetAndClank'' series:
** The first game, RatchetAndClank:
*** Most of the planets have three paths, or two paths and a special area (gravity boots, hoverboard race, etc.)
*** The final boss fight has three phases.
** RatchetAndClank: Going Commando
*** The Thug Leader of Thugs-4-Less must be defeated three times.
*** The final boss fight at the end of the game has three phases, but can be shorter if the player applies MoreDakka.
** Dr. Nefarious at the end of RatchetAndClank: Up Your Arsenal must be defeated three times. [[spoiler: Twice in person. Once in his giant mech.]]
* FinalFantasyVI the power to potentially destroy the planet is granted by three goddess statues.
* Though not canonically significant, threes recur in the KingdomOfLoathing. There are three stats and the classes are divisible by them, so from the beginning the Gourd Captain requests three different items from three different areas; the Pretentious Artist also wants three items from the same three areas. Three sacred items close the Gate of the Deep Fat Friars, then Azazel in Hell wants three items returned and later three objects are required to please Satan. The L33t Tr4pz0r wants three chunks of one of three kinds of ore. Three items are needed to craft the Staff of Ed. Each side of the Mysterious Island war has three sidequests. And finally, the Naughty Sorceress has three forms.
* ArmyMen: to escort Omega in a Huey, 2 Apaches were dispatched. 3 Helicopters destroyed by a small number of Apaches.
* [[SuperSmashBros Pokemon Trainer]]: TRIPLE FINISH!
* {{Pokemon}} is full of it. There are always three starters, chosen to form ElementalRockPaperScissors, and a set of themed three legendary {{Mons}}: the elemental birds from the first generation of games, the elemental beasts from the second, three golem-like Pokemon (Regirock, Regice and Registeel, later joined by Regigigas) with the Groudon-Kyogre-Rayquaza trio from the third and the Lake Trio in the fourth. Deoxys also has three Formes, prioritising either [[GlassCannon attack]], [[StoneWall defence]] or [[FragileSpeedster speed]]. That's probably merely touching the surface, though.
* Many RPGs ended up featuring three-man parties (Final Fantasy I and IX were more exceptions to this) for most adventuring and combat.
* ''TeamFortress2'' has quite a few as well. There are 3 offensive classes, 3 defensive classes, and 3 support classes. Each character (except for the Spy and Engineer) originally started out with 3 weapons: a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, and a melee weapon. Later on, Valve has started to update the game by giving each class 3 new weapons
**Additionally, the default number of flag captures to win a CTF map is 3.
* In ''RadiantSilvergun'', your ship has three primary weapons, and three secondary weapons fired by pressing combinations of two buttons. Shooting three enemies of the same color gets you a chain bonus. There's three colors of enemies. Your first stage is [[AnachronicOrder Stage 3]]. There are three protagonist ships (though only 2 of them are player-controlled).
*Three might not be the biggest theme number in SonicTheHedgehog, but it's still important to note how many times the number comes up, especially in the designs:
**Sonic has three spines in the 2D illustrations.
**Amy and Tails have three bangs.
**Characters are organised into [[PowerTrio Power Trios]].
**There are three ability catergories - [[SuperSpeed Speed]], [[SuperStrength Power]] and {{Flight}}. (Power Trios are based on these.)
***And in Sonic Chronicles there are three character classes - Power (more oriented to attack), Support (more oriented to defend) and Shifter (balanced character).
**There were three [[CharacterAlignment Character Alignments]] for most levels in ShadowTheHedgehog - Good, Neutral and Evil.
**There were three protagonists, main themes and plotlines in SonicTheHedgehog2006 (it liked this one).
**There are three [[KingArthur Knights of the Round Table]] and three lesser swords in SonicAndTheBlackKnight.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''TriquetraCats'' features three sisters taking up the mantle and war that their deceased mother was unable to finish.
* From ''AMiracleOfScience'': Benjamin mentions that he spends much of his rare days off listening to classical music; he gives Bach, Prokofiev, and ''{{the Beatles}}'' as examples. (The webcomic's artist expounds on the Rule in his [[http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos084.html commentary]].
* In ''EightBitTheater'' [[spoiler: Onrac is destroyed because of Sarda and Black Mage three times.]]
** ''So far''...
* In ''GirlGenius'', [[http://girlgeniuscomic.livejournal.com/74654.html the third time]] Zola needs to be rescued when Agatha wants to talk to Gil, Agatha rescues her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In one ''TinyToonAdventures'' 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 RunningGag".
* In ''TransformersArmada'', there are three legendarily strong weapons formed by the combination of three Mini-Cons apiece... Caused partly by the MerchandiseDriven nature of the series, as Mini-Cons were sold in teams of three.
** Also, the Mini-Cons added a third unique group of transformers alongside the Autobots and Decepticons - as witness their unique emblem.
* "Triple Threat - Rail Racer!". Not to mention the original Triple-Changers came in sets of three, and the Unicron Trilogy (and Headmasters) tended to have three-kid sidekick teams. Transformers is _mostly_ based around the number two, though.
* Lampshaded and Subverted in ''{{Duckman}}''. While looking for suspects at a nightclub, Duckman says "Something bugs me. He's the third suspicious character we've talked to, and the third one is always guilty". The lights go out, shots are heard and when it's over the suspect is dead on the floor. Cornfed observes "So much for the RuleOfThree."
* In an ''{{Animaniacs}}'' short: "Tea? Coffee? Monster?"
** Another example: Slappy is eulogizing her archfoe Walter Wolf, who was faking the funeral to 'get' her. According to Slappy, Walter was a firm believer in this rule, including three bombs that were found lying around to blow her up. 'I'm sure he'd want to be buried with it.'
* Averted on ''Extreme {{Ghostbusters}}''. "On the count of three." "Three!"
* In one episode of ''{{Freakazoid}}!'', the titular character is picked up by a holographic pterodactyl and dropped from an extreme height, and he screams for help every time he falls. Lampshaded the third time when he and the Lobe fall together:
-->'''The Lobe:''' Freakazoid, why is it taking us so long to fall?
-->'''Freakazoid:''' [[RuleOfFunny Cuz it's funny!]]
-->'''The Lobe:''' No it's not, it's just stupid!
* [[SouthPark "Biggie Smalls. Biggie Smalls. Biggie Smalls."]]
** South Park also did it in the Imaginationland episode:
--->"Sir, we have a security breach!"\\
"What?!"\\
"There's an Unauthorized Entry Alert! It's coming from Sector Two!"\\
"Sector Two??"
**Cartman then jumps in through a window. The second time the above dialouge occurs, Cartman again jumps in through the shoddily repaired window. The third time it happens, Kyle jumps in through the remnants of the window, causing the general to exclaim, "Why is it so easy for children to break into the Pentagon?!"
* SchoolhouseRock did a song about the 3's times tables. (Hilariously, it was called Three Is a Magic Number.) It was full of all kinds of examples.
* In ''Aladdin'', there are three things the genie can't do: kill, force love, or raise the dead.
* [[{{Futurama}} One spoonful calms you down, two spoonfuls help you sleep, but three spoonfuls, you'll go into a sleep and never wake up! Never!]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The YoutubePoop video ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgRUTAlu1-A Meet the Artillery]]'' by electricthecheese does this by having an overly-long-gag of [[TeamFortress2 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 CareBears 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 ''LifeInAGame''. When Lollerskates assumes his [[ClippedWingAngel final form]] during his [[http://www.lifeinagame.com/pages/episode62.html Final Showdown]] with the heroes, all it takes is three shots to his [[AttackItsWeakPoint incredibly obvious weakpoint]] to finish him, which [[{{HALO}} the Master Chief]] calls him out on after his defeat. Then he teabags him.
* RedVsBlue'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:
--->'''Simmons:''' Alright, let's run on three.
--->'''Grif:''' Wait, ON three, or one-two-three-THEN go?
--->'''Simmons:''' ON three, it's always faster to go on three! Okay ready, one. . .
--->*Grif starts running*
--->'''Simmons:''' two. . . three! *turns around, sees Grif already far away* Oh, you backstabbing cockbite.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In the UK, the school year is traditionally divided into three terms: Winter, Spring and Summer (or Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity if you go to an old established school or university).
* [[{{Smerf}} This troper's]] fencing instructor in college described fencing tactics as being "three counts", eg. feint, feint, attack; Feint, attack, feint, etc. The trick was, he said, that your opponent never knew ''where you started counting from''
* 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 pretty much everyone from the German Wehrmacht in the 1930s. Previously, it was the rule of fours.
* The Rock, Paper, Scissors game (or Stone, Scissors, Paper, depending on where you are).
* Morning, Noon, Night.
* Past, Present, Future.
* Land, Sea, Sky.
* Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
* Who hasn't heard this? "Okay ready? On three..."
* Survival's Rule of Threes for us untrained folk: Three minutes without air, three hours without heat, three days without water, three weeks without food.
** THREE MONTHS WITHOUT LOVE. (Don't ask. It was some short story about a dog.)
** This troper always began that series with "three seconds without blood."
* There is a saying "One time is chance, Two Times is a coincidence, Three times is suspicious" which suggests that 3 times is the least amount of times something has to happen before it is established as something more than coincidence.
** In the UK, it's "once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action". At least one James Bond story was built on this.
*** That was ''Goldfinger'' (the seventh book, but the '''third''' in the film series)
* Look up any Weight Training routine, a vast majority of them will consist of each exercise being 3 sets of x reps, with 3 sets of 10 being the most popular.
* It may be [[strike:partially]] EpilepticTrees, but there's a common theme in news media that celebrity deaths tend to come in bursts of three with less than a month between each.
** Unless it happens to be June 2009, in which no less than [[strike:'''''five''''']] [[strike:'''''six''''']] [[strike:'''''seven''''']] '''''lots of''''' celebrities died within one month, four of those in the same ''week'' (and two just hours apart from each other). If nothing else, we can at least finally put that silly notion to rest.
** It also depends on how you define a "celebrity." Go look on the recent deaths page on ThatOtherWiki and for every day a famous American celebrity kicked the bucket, you'll find at least one other person who died on the same day who may have been more well-known internationally or a superstar for a specific country, or a famous person in a particular career or field of work; he or she may not have been a "celebrity" as most of the American populace thinks of, but that person was well-known by a lot of people nonetheless.
** [[http://movies.msn.com/wonderwall/in-memoriam-2009/photo-gallery/feature/?iv=0 This]] MSN article is about celebrities who have died in 2009 so far. The vast majority of them are from the past two months, mostly from such ailments as cancer. Just for the record, there are 45 thumbnails.
*** 50 as of August 27, 2009
* The VIP or convoy with 2 bodyguards (vehicles may count as 2). Sometimes subverted depending on the situation.
* Triple Threat. Triangle.
* Listing things in groups of three for emphasis is generally considered a useful technnique for giving a speech. One of the better examples was Tony Blair's declaration that what Britain needed was, "Education! Education! Education!"
* From what this troper has heard (may be inaccurate), ancient Jewish and Arabic custom allowed a man to divorce his wife by simply declaring 'I divorce you' three times.
** The Arabic custom ("talaq") is currently quite accurate, at least on Sunni Islam. There's no immediate Jewish equivalent.
*** Not only is it true, it has also resulted in at least one incident where a man [[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).
* The Roman orator Cicero often used trios of phrases when wanting emphasis in speeches. While he may not have initiated the habit, many, many admirers picked it up.
* "Government '''of the People, by the people and for the people''' shall not perish from this earth."
** But subverted: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."
* Lotsa "Three Strike" systems when it comes to rules in general. Two warnings, and the third time is when the proverbial poop hits the fan.
* There are lots of threes in the human body: Three bones in the ear (hammer, anvil, and stirrup), three types of muscle (smooth, skeletal, and cardiac), three layers in the skin (epidermis, dermis, and subcutis), three types of blood cells (white, red, and platelets), hair can be divided into three parts (bulb, root, shaft)...
[[/folder]]

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