THINGS COME IN THREES

For the hotdog project, the theme of 'threes' seemed like a good one to pursue further and explore. 

Some sites suggest that good things come in threes, others suggest bad. The 'rule of three' is a principle in writing also, that suggests anything that comes in a three is automatically funnier, more effective and even more satisfying. This is seen often within children's books, nursery rhymes and fairytales, for example the three blind mice, goldilocks and the three bears and the three little pigs.

There appear to be a lot of things that follow this rule. Here is a large list of threes.

3 Billy Goats Gruff
3 Coins in a Fountain
3 French Hens (song)
3 Days of the Condor
3 Bones in the Human Ear 
3 Miles in a League
3 Old King Cole's Fiddlers
3 Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily, Anne) 
3 Goals in a Hat Trick (hockey)
3 Little Pigs
3 Bears in Goldilocks
3 Sheets to the Wind
3 Times a Lady
3 Minute Egg
3 Piece Suit
3 Feet in a Yard
3 Books in Lord of the Rings
3 Ring Circus
3 Ships of Christopher Columbus
3 Books in a Trilogy
3 Peas in a pod
3 Witches in Macbeth
3 Heads on the Dog Cerberus
3 Little Kittens They Lost Their Mittens
3 Wheels on a Tricycle
3 Stooges
3 Blind Mice
3 Wise Men
3 Legged Race
3 Ring Circus
3 Wheeler
3 Point Landing
3 Cheers
3 Strikes & You're Out
3 Cornered Hat
3 Is A Crowd
3 Dimensional
3 Faces of Eve
3 Mile Island
3 Musketeers
3 R's
3rd time's a charm
3 Cheers
3 Bee Gees
3 Branches of US Federal govt (RIP)
3 Sides of a triangle
3 Capitals of South Africa
3 Races in the Triple Crown (horse racing)
3 Angles in a Triangle
3 Cousins of Donald Duck: Huey, Dewey and Louie
3 Dog Night
3 Alous (Matty, Jesus and Felipe)
3 Kennedys (John, Robert and Teddy)
3 Trimesters in a Pregnancy
3 Flavors in Neapolitan Ice Cream
3 Bean Salad
3 To Get Ready (and four to go)
3 Stars in Orion’s belt
3 Parts To An Atom: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
3 Caloric Sources: Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins
3 Quarks in a Baryon.
3 Primary hues in white light red, green, and blue.
3 Parts to the Personality: Id. Ego, super-ego
3 Earth Divisions: Core, Mantle, Crust.
3 Rock Formations: Igneous- Metamorphic- Sedimentary.
3 Times A Lady
3 Bags Full in Baa Baa Black Sheep
3 Barleycorns in an Inch
3 Hands on a Clock (with the Seconds Hand)
3 King Lear's Daughters (Regan, Goneril and Cordelia)
3 Colors in the Flag
3 Legged Race
3 Men and a Baby (movie)
3 Minute Egg
3 Card Monte
3 Great Pyramids at Giza
3 on a Match
3 Point Basket
3 Miles in a League
3 Men in a Tub Rub a Dub Dub
3 Holes in a Bowling Ball
3 Balls on a Pawn Brokers Sign
3 Colours in a Set of Traffic Lights
3 Lines in a Haiku Poem
3 Life lines in Who Wants to be a Millionaire
3 Leaves on a Shamrock
3 Minutes in a Boxing Round
3 Scruples in a Dram
3 Teaspoons in a Tablespoon
3 Valves on a Trumpet
3 Shakes of a Tail
3 Megajoules in a Kilowatt Hour
3 Laws of Motion
3 Legs on a Milking Stool
3 Monastic Vows (Poverty, Chastity and Obedience)
3 Points for a Field Goal in (American) Football
3 Penny Opera
3 Wise Men, Casper, Melchior, Balthasar
3 Tenors (Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti)
3 Gorgons (Medusa, Stheno and Euryale)
3 Greek Fates Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos
3 Roman Graces: Aglaia, Euphrosyne, Thalia.
3 Parts to a Chimera: Lion Head, Goat Body, SnakeTail
3 Roman Furies Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone
3 Greek Harpies: Aello, Ocypete, and Celaeno.
3 Times Peter denied Christ.
3 Body Types: Endomorph, Mesomorph, Ectomorph
3 Ring Notebooks
3 Notes in a Triad (chord)
3 Bases in a Codon
3 Domains: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucaryota
3 Germ layers: Endoderm, Mesoderm, Ectoderm
3 Species of Homo: Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens
Cu*m Laude, Magna Cu*m Laude, and Suma Cu*m Laude
Frankencense, Gold and Myrrh
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Hegel’s Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis
The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth 
Of the People, By the People, For the People
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil 
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
Veni, Vidi, Vici
Faith, Hope and Charity
Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Paper, Rock, Scissors
Peter Paul and Mary
Winken, Blinken, and Nod
Snap, Crack, and Pop
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Small, Medium and Large
Alvin, Simon and Theodore (chipmunks)
CBS, NBC, ABC
Ready, Aim, Fire
On Your mark, Get Set, Go

list source http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080317011358AAcSQll

Highlighted are those that should be explored further.

3 bones in the human ear

The three bones are: the malleus (or hammer), incus (or anvil), and stapes (or stirrup).

They are the smallest bones in the human body. 

These bones function in transmitting sound waves to the inner ear.

Malleus: The primary function of the malleus is the transmission of sound waves or vibrations from the eardrum to the incus. Eventually this sound wave will reach the cochlea where it will be interpreted by the brain. The malleus bone is unique to mammals and evolved to allow for hearing.

Incus: Like the malleus, the primary function of the incus is the transmission of sound waves or vibrations.

Stapes: The primary function of the stapes is transmitting sound waves from the incus to the membrane of the inner ear. Eventually this sound vibration will be interpreted by the brain.

http://www.learnbones.com/middle-ear-bones-anatomy

3 Brontë sisters

They lived at Haworth Parsonage from 1820 to 1861. Mrs Bronte died of cancer on 15th September 1821, leaving her sister, Elizabeth Branwell to care for the 6 children. In 1825 Maria, and Elizabeth died. For the next six years Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell were to stay at the Parsonage, where their creativity is evident in the tiny manuscripts about fantasy worlds such as Gondal and Angria.

Charlotte: Jane Eyre (1847), The Professor (1857), Shirley(1849), Two Short Pieces, Villette (1853), Napoleon and the Spectre, Emma (unfinished) 

Emily: Wuthering Heights (1847)

Anne: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), Agnes Grey

http://www.brontefamily.org/works.html

3 blind mice

The origin of the words to the Three blind mice rhyme are based in English history. The 'farmer's wife' refers to the daughter of King Henry VIII, Queen Mary I. Mary was a staunch Catholic and her violent persecution of Protestants led to the nickname of 'Bloody Mary'. The reference to 'farmer's wife' in Three blind mice refers to the massive estates which she, and her husband King Philip of Spain, possessed.

The 'three blind mice' were three noblemen who adhered to the Protestant faith who were convicted of plotting against the Queen - she did not have them dismembered and blinded as inferred in Three blind mice - but she did have them burnt at the stake!

Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run,
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a thing in your life,
As three blind mice?

http://www.rhymes.org.uk/three_blind_mice.htm

3 is a crowd

Also, two's company, three's a crowd .  A third person spoilsthe ideal combination of a couple, as in No, I won't join you three's a crowd . This expression, alluding to a third person spoiling the privacy of a pair of lovers, was already a proverb in1546. For a synonym, see fifth wheel.

source http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/three's+a+crowd

3 Parts to the Personality: Id. Ego, super-ego

Freud argued that the human mind and personality are made up of three parts:

The id: a primitive part of the personality that pursues only pleasure and instant gratification

The ego: the part of the personality that is aware of reality and is in contact with the outside world. It is the part that considers the consequences of an action and deals with the demands of the id and the superego.

The superego: contains our social conscience and through the experience of guilt and anxiety when we do something wrong, it guides us towards socially acceptable behaviour.

http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/learning_modules/psychology/02.TU.04/?section=11

3 Lines in a Haiku Poem

Haiku is a poetic form and a type of poetry from the Japanese culture. Haiku combines form, content, and language in a meaningful, yet compact form. The most common form for Haiku is three short lines. The first line usually contains five (5) syllables, the second line seven (7) syllables, and the third line contains five (5) syllables. Haiku doesn't rhyme. A Haiku must "paint" a mental image in the reader's mind. This is the challenge of Haiku - to put the poem's meaning and imagery in the reader's mind in ONLY 17 syllables over just three (3) lines of poetry.

http://volweb.utk.edu/school/bedford/harrisms/haiku.htm

3 Monastic Vows (Poverty, Chastity and Obedience)

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The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth 

Sworn testimony is evidence given by a witness who has made a commitment to tell the truth.

Oath: A commitment made to the witness's deity, or on their holy book.
Affirmation: A secular variant of the oath where the witness does not have to mention a deity or holy book.
Promise: A commitment made by a witness under the age of 17, or of all witnesses if none of the accused are over the age of 17.

wikipedia
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

'Inspired by Keith Olbermann's special commentary, and the Prop 8 protest on Saturday.'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anitakhart/3026234829/

Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil 

Ignore any evil that you come in contact with; be virtuous even though there is evil around you. (Often represented by three monkeys, one of which is covering his eyes, one his ears, and one his mouth.)

idioms

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

1966 Western film by Sergio Leone