Many people treat this idea of having things grouped in threes like it’s a natural law. I don’t believe that’s true. But for some reason, people like things in threes. I’ve compiled a list of 50 examples that have meant something to me:
- Apollo 11 (First landed on the Moon; Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins)
- Athos, Porthos, Aramis (Musketeers)
- Bacon, lettuce, tomato
- Bears (Goldilocks)
- Bed, bath, beyond
- Better, faster, cheaper
- Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
- Blind mice
- Cheers
- Cream (the band; Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton)
- Destiny’s child (Sorry! Beyonce fan!)
- Dog Night (the band or a description of cold)
- Faith, hope, charity
- Forward/backward, left/right, up/down
- Gasper, Melchior, Balthasar (wise men)
- Gold, frankincense, myrrh (the gifts of the wise men)
- Golf balls in a sleeve
- Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil
- Huey, Dewey, Louie (Donald Duck’s nephews)
- Judicial, Legislative, Executive (branches of U.S. Government)
- Knife, fork, spoon
- Lead, follow, get outta the way
- Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness
- Little pigs
- Moe, Larry, Curly (or Shemp)
- Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria (Chris Columbus’ ships)
- Of the people, by the people, for the people
- On the count of …
- On your mark, get set, go
- Opening, body and closing (an essay)
- Past, present, future
- Performance, status, forecast
- Readin’, ‘ritin’, ‘rithmetic
- Ready, aim, fire (order is important)
- Red, white, blue
- Rings in a circus
- Rock, paper, scissors (lizard, spock: “The Big Bang Theory”)
- Sheets to the wind
- Snap, crackle, pop
- Strikes and you’re out
- Tennis balls in a can
- The good, the bad, the ugly
- The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
- Time’s the charm
- Trinity (not the girl in “The Matrix”)
- Up, up and away
- Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)
- Winken, blinken, nod
- Wishes
- Witches (Macbeth)
The important points are: 1) I do not know why things work this way, 2) things in threes are comfortable and familiar to most people, 3) given that they like it, why wouldn’t you give things to people in threes. NOTE: Three numbered items.
Yes, yes, I know the there are a bazillion things that don’t come in threes and are terrific. Three just seems to be a number of things that people can easily remember. Gosh, that sounds like a good, maybe GREAT thing. Knowing that, a smart writer, advertiser, or presenter would certainly leverage the idea to structure proposals, presentations, marketing, and advertising.
Stephen P. (Steve) Czerniak
About the author: Mr. Czerniak retired after a successful career that culminated in fifteen years of experience as an internal consultant and “change agent.” He is currently a volunteer at Macomb-Oakland University INCubator.
Love it!