3  

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3 (three) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4.

In mathematics

• Three is the first odd prime number,<ref>Bryan Bunch, The Kingdom of Infinite Number. New York: W. H. Freeman & Company (2000): 39</ref> and the second smallest prime. It is both the first Fermat prime (2²ⁿ + 1) and the first Mersenne prime (2ⁿ − 1), as well as the first lucky prime. However, it's the second Sophie Germain prime, the second Mersenne prime exponent, the second factorial prime (2! + 1), the second Lucas prime, the second Stern prime.
• Three is the first unique prime due to the properties of its reciprocal.
• Three is the aliquot sum of 4.
• Three is the third Heegner number.
• Three is the second triangular number and it is the only prime triangular number. Three is the only prime which is one less than a perfect square. Any other number which is n² − 1 for some integer n is not prime, since it is (n − 1)(n + 1). This is true for 3 as well, but in its case one of the factors is 1.
• Three non-collinear points determine a plane and a circle.
• Three is the fourth Fibonacci number and the third that is unique. In the Perrin sequence, however, 3 is both the zeroth and third Perrin numbers.
• Three is the fourth open meandric number.
• Vulgar fractions with 3 in the denominator have a single digit repeating sequences in their decimal expansions, (.000..., .333..., .666...)
• A natural number is divisible by three if the sum of its digits in base 10 is divisible by 3. For example, the number 21 is divisible by three (3 times 7) and the sum of its digits is 2 + 1 = 3. Because of this, the reverse of any number that is divisible by three (or indeed, any permutation of its digits) is also divisible by three. For instance, 1368 and its reverse 8631 are both divisible by three (and so are 1386, 3168, 3186, 3618, etc..). See also Divisibility rule. This works in base 10 and in any positional numeral system whose base divided by three leaves a remainder of one (bases 4, 7, 10, etc.).
• A triangle is the most durable shape possibleTemplate:Citation needed, the only "perfect" figure which if all endpoints have hinges will never change its shape unless the sides themselves are bent.
• Three of the five regular polyhedra have triangular faces — the tetrahedron, the octahedron, and the icosahedron. Also, three of the five regular polyhedra have vertices where three faces meet — the tetrahedron, the hexahedron (cube), and the dodecahedron. Furthermore, only three different types of polygons comprise the faces of the five regular polyhedra — the triangle, the quadrilateral, and the pentagon.
• There are only three distinct 4×4 panmagic squares.
• Only three tetrahedral numbers are also perfect squares.

In numeral systems

It is frequently noted by historians of numbers that early counting systems often relied on the three-patterned concept of "One- Two- Many" to describe counting limits. In other words, in their own language equivalent way, early peoples had a word to describe the quantities of one and two, but any quantity beyond this point was simply denoted as "Many". As an extension to this insight, it can also be noted that early counting systems appear to have had limits at the numerals 2, 3, and 4. References to counting limits beyond these three indices do not appear to prevail as consistently in the historical record.

List of basic calculations

Evolution of the glyph

File:Evolution3glyph.png

Three is often the largest number written with as many lines as the number represents. The Romans tired of writing 4 as IIII, but to this day 3 is written as three lines in Roman and Chinese numerals. This was the way the Brahmin Indians wrote it, and the Gupta made the three lines more curved. The Nagari started rotating the lines clockwise and ending each line with a slight downward stroke on the right. Eventually they made these strokes connect with the lines below, and evolved it to a character that looks very much like a modern 3 with an extra stroke at the bottom. It was the Western Ghubar Arabs who finally eliminated the extra stroke and created our modern 3. (The "extra" stroke, however, was very important to the Eastern Arabs, and they made it much larger, while rotating the strokes above to lie along a horizontal axis, and to this day Eastern Arabs write a 3 that looks like a mirrored 7 with ridges on its top line): ٣<ref>Georges Ifrah, The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer transl. David Bellos et al. London: The Harvill Press (1998): 393, Fig. 24.63</ref>

While the shape of the 3 character has an ascender in most modern typefaces, in typefaces with text figures the character usually has a descender, as, for example, in 52px. In some French text-figure typefaces, though, it has an ascender instead of a descender.

A common variant of the digit 3 has a flat top, similar to the character Template:Unicode (ezh), sometimes used to prevent people from falsifying a 3 into an 8.

In science

Anatomy

• A human ear has three semicircular canals.
• A human middle ear has three ossicles.
• Most elbows consist of three bones, the only joint in the human body where three articulations are surrounded by one capsule.

Anthropology

Attempts to recognize tripartite patterns in human evolution were somewhat popular in the early-mid 20th century. Today, with new knowledge about the fossil record and phylogeny, they are all but refuted. However, one must wonder why there ever was a recurring predilection for a tripartite organization instead of some other pattern, whether or not a specific enumerative identity (such as the "three") presented itself.

With the realization that the Bonobo represents another and very distinct chimpanzee, humans are instead being referred to as "third chimpanzee", as among living creatures they are most similar to the Bonobo and Common Chimp.

• 3 distinct species of the genus Homo: 1. Homo habilis "capable man". 2. Homo erectus "upright man". 3. Homo sapiens "wise man".
  • But many additional species are now known.
• 3 distinct species of the genus Paranthropus: 1. Paranthropus robustus. 2. Paranthropus boisei. 3. Paranthropus aethiopicus.
  • But the validity of Paranthropus, although it is possible, has never been unequivocally proven.
• 3 Proconsul species: 1. Proconsul africanus. 2. Proconsul major. 3. Proconsul nyanzae.
  • But P. heseloni has been described since; and the genus Proconsul might not be an ape.
• 3 Pan troglodytes sub-species: 1. Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii (Eastern Common Chimpanzee). 2. Pan troglodytes troglodytes (Central Common Chimp). 3. Pan troglodytes verus (Western Common Chimp).
  • But P. t. vellerosus has been described since.
• 3 types of primates: 1. Prosimians. 2. Monkeys (old & new world). 3. Apes (lesser & greater apes, as well as humans).
  • But Old World and New World monkeys are not a natural group.
• 3 social group types of the great apes: 1. Orangutans (solitary - little amount of both sexes). 2. Gorillas (harems - great amount of one sex). 3. Common chimpanzees (live in territories defended by related males - great amount of both sexes).
  • But Bonobos represent a fourth type of social structure, with equal sex ratio but unique hierarchy.
• 3 traditional families of hominoids (apes) : 1. Hylobatidae - include the so-called lesser apes of Asia, the gibbons and siamangs. 2. Hominidae (great apes) - include living humans and typically fossil apes that possess a suite of characteristics such as bipedalism, reduced canine size, and increasing brain size such as the australopithecines. 3. Pongidae - include the remaining African great apes including gorillas, chimpanzees, and the Asian orangutan.
  • But Pongidae are united with the Hominidae by modern science, as they are paraphyletic otherwise.

Astronomy

• There are three main galaxy morphological classifications: Ellipticals. Spirals. Lenticulars. These classes are extended for finer distinctions of appearance and to encompass irregular galaxies.
• The Roman numeral III stands for giant star in the Yerkes spectral classification scheme.
• The Roman numeral III (usually) stands for the third-discovered satellite of a planet or minor planet (e.g. Pluto III)
• In the constellation Orion, his belt is made up of 3 stars in a row.
• Earth is the third planet in its local Solar System.

Biology (specific and general)

• RNA has a triplet codon system.
• DNA has a triplet codon system.
• Proteins can have a single, double, or tertiary structure, with a composite of these called the quaternary.
• Chromosomes can present trisomy.
• The three-domain system of life's classification: Archaea. Bacteria. Eukaryotes. (But the relationship between archaea and eukaryotes remains problematic).
• 3 germ layers in animals (such as mammals) with bilateral symmetry: Endoderm. Mesoderm. Ectoderm.
• 3 principal stages of glucose respiration: Glycolysis. Citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle). Electron transport chain.
• Hemimetabolous insects undergo gradual metamorphosis through three distinct stages: the egg, nymph, and the adult stage, or imago. There is no pupal stage. (Compare to holometabolism which has four stages and is less gradual).

Chemistry

• Three is the atomic number of lithium.
• Atoms consist of three constituents: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
• 3 types of molecular bond: Covalent bond; Ionic bond; Polar covalent bond (dative or coordinate).
• 3 isomerism types (with examples): Structural (ethyl alcohol); Geometric (maleic acid); Optical (lactic acid).
• 3 hydrocarbon chain types: Straight (Propane); Branched (Isobutane); Circular (Cyclopropane).
• 3 basic chemical reaction substances: Acids, Bases, and Salts.

Physics

• The Standard Model of fundamental particles includes three generations of matter (fermions), encompassing the leptons (Generation I—electron; II—muon; III—tauon; and their three corresponding neutrinos), and, in pairs of flavors, the quarks (Generation I—up quark & down quark; II—charm quark & strange quark; III—top quark & bottom quark). Thus each of the three generations contains four particles, and these are often shown aligned with four bosons (force-carrying particles) excluding hypothetical bosons such as the graviton and the Higgs boson.
• A proton consists of three quarks: two up quarks and one down quark. A neutron also consists of three quarks: two down quarks and one up quark.
• We perceive our universe to have three spatial dimensions.
• White light is composed of the mixture of the three additive primary hues: red, green, and blue.
• Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion - The Law of Inertia, the Law of Momentum, and the Law of Reciprocal Action which states "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

In religion and myth

Triple deity

Many world religions contain triple deities or concepts of trinity, including:

• the Christian Holy Trinity
• the Hindu Trimurti
• the Hindu Tridevi
• the Three Jewels of Buddhism
• the Three Pure Ones of Taoism
• the Triple Goddess of Wicca

Georges Dumézil developed the idea of a Tripartite Ideology (Trifunctional Hypothesis) with respect to the Indo-European peoples consisting of three class divisions: Priestly~ Warrior~ Farmers/Craftsmen.

Ancient myths

• Ancient Egypt Theban Triad: Amun~ Mut~ and their son Khans
• 3 sons of Zeus & Europa: Minos~ Rhadamanthus~ Sarpedon
• 3-faced goddess in Greek Mythology: Hecate
• 3 Gorgons-(snake-haired sisters in Greek mythology): Stheno, Euryale, Medusa are sometimes depicted as having wings of gold, brazen claws, and the tusks of boars. Medusa is the only one of the gorgons that is mortal.
• 3 Roman Furies (female personifications of vengeance) that were called the Erinyes (the Angry Ones) or Eumenides by the Ancient Greeks (Orestes called them the Solemn Ones, or the Kindly Ones): Alecto ("unceasing")~ Megaera ("grudging")~ Tisiphone ("avenging murder").
• 3-headed dog that guarded the gate to Hades in Greek Mythology: Cerberus
• 3 ancient Greek Harpies: Aello, Ocypete, and Celaeno.
• 3 Greek Fates (Moirai, Moirés): Clotho~ Lachesis~ Atropos (sometimes referred to as the 3 spinners).
• 3 Roman Fates: Decima~ Nona (goddesses of birth)~ Morta (goddess of death)
• 3 Roman Graces- (in Greek mythology called the Charities and according to the Spartans, Cleta was the third): Aglaia~ Euphrosyne~ Thalia.
• 3 parts to a Chimera: Head of a lion~ Body of a goat~ Tail of a snake
• 3 forms of Odin in Eddic Mythology: Har~ Jafnhar~ Thridi
• 3 mysterious figures amongst Norse gods: Hoenir~ Lodurr~ Mimir
• 3 monstrous offspring by Loki and Angroboda: Fenrir~ Hel~ Jormungund
• 3 hags possessing immense power in Norse Myth: Urdr~ Verdandi~ Skuld
• 3 Norns of Norse Mythology who sat beneath the World Tree Yggdrasil
• The Maya believed 3 stars in the Orion Constellation (Alnitak~ Saiph~ Rigel) were arranged by the gods as a triangular hearth, enclosing the smoke of the fire creation - the nebula.

Abrahamic religions

[[File:Shield-Trinity-Scutum-Fidei-English.png|thumb|The Shield of the Trinity is a diagram of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity]].

• There are three main Abrahamic religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
• In Muslim devotional rites, certain formulas are repeated three times, and others thirty-three times.
• A devout Muslim tries to make a pilgrimage to all three holy cities in Islam: Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.
• Noah's three sons:Shem, Ham and Japheth (Sons of Noah).
• The Holy Trinity in Christian doctrine (or trinity in general), is God both as a single being and three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is also known as Tripartite division or the Godhead.
• According to the Gospel of John, Jesus spread Christianity for 3 years.
• Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his death.
• Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times.
• The Wise Men who visited Jesus after His birth left Him three gifts.
• King Solomon states in Ecclesiastes 4:12: "A three-ply cord is not easily severed." Examples of this concept of three-ness in Judaism are:
  • The three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  • The three pilgrim festivals (Sheloshet HaRegalim): Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
  • The three leaders of the Jewish nation during their 40 years of wandering in the desert: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
  • The Tanakh has 3 sections: Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim.
  • There are 3 daily prayer services: Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv.
  • There are three main divisions of Jews: Kohen, Levi, and Israel (Israelite).
  • Shimon Hatzaddik taught: "On three things the world stands: On Torah, on prayer, and on acts of kindness" (Pirkei Avoth 1:2). Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel taught: "The world continues to exist because of three things: justice, truth, and peace" (ibid. 1:18).
• The three Theological virtues referred to 1 Corinthians 13.
• In Roman Catholicism, a group of three martyrs, collectively known as Faith, Hope, and Charity (named after the Theological Virtues).
  • Also in Roman Catholic doctrine, there are three realms of the afterlife: Heaven, Hell and Purgatory (Limbo is regarded as hypothetical).

In Hinduism

• The Trimurti: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer.
• The three Gunas underlie action, in the Vedic system of knowledge.
• The three Vedas are called trayi, i.e., triad.
• Lord Shiva is Trinetra-Three-eyed.
• The confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and hidden Sarasvati is the famous Triveni-confluence of three rivers.

In Buddhism

• The Triple Gem - Buddha, Dhamma (Buddha's teaching) and Sangha (the preachers of Dhamma).
• The Triple Bodhi (ways to understand the end of birth)- Budhu, Pasebudhu, Mahaarahath
• The Buddha has three bodies.
• Buddhism's three refuges are Trisharana- Buddhan sharanam gacchami, Dhammam sharanam gacchami, Sangham sharanam gacchami.

Other religions

• The Wiccan Rule of Three.
• The Triple Goddess: Maiden, Mother, Crone; the three fates.

In esoteric tradition

• The Theosophical Society has three conditions of membership.
• Gurdjieff's Three Centers and the Law of Three.
• Aleister Crowley's model of the three schools of magick (Black, White and Yellow) from his Magick Without Tears.
• Feri Tradition teaches of the existence of three souls in each individual person.

In philosophy

• The three Doshas (weaknesses) and their antidotes are the basis of Ayurvedic medicine in India.
• Hegel's dialectic of Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis creates three-ness from two-ness.
• Charles Sanders Peirce made many trichotomies and framed the "Reduction Thesis" that every predicate is essentially either monadic (quality), dyadic (relation of reaction or resistance), or triadic (representational relation), and never genuinely and irreducibly tetradic or larger.

As a lucky or unlucky number

Template:Unreferenced section Three (三, formal writing: 叁, pinyin san1, Cantonese: saam1) is considered a good number in Chinese culture because it sounds like the word "alive" (生 pinyin sheng1, Cantonese: saang1), compared to four (四, pinyin: si4, Cantonese: sei1) that sounds like the word "death" (死 pinyin si3, Cantonese: sei2).

Counting to three is common in situations where a group of people wish to perform an action in synchrony: Now, on the count of three, everybody pull!  Assuming the counter is proceeding at a uniform rate, the first two counts are necessary to establish the rate, but then everyone can predict when "three" will come based on "one" and "two"; this is likely why three is used instead of some other number.

In Vietnam, it is bad luck to take a photo with three people in it. The person in the middle is believed to die soon.

There is a superstition that states it is unlucky to take a third light, that is, to be the third person to light a cigarette from the same match or lighter. This is commonly believed to date from the trenches of the First World War when a sniper might see the first light, take aim on the second and fire on the third.

Luck, especially bad luck, is often said to "come in threes".

In technology

50px|right|3 as a resin identification code, used in recycling.

• The resin identification code used in recycling to identify polyvinyl chloride.
• On most telephone keypads, the "3" key is also associated with the letters "D", "E", and "F".
• In ASCII, the code for "3" in hexadecimal is 33.

25px|right

• The glyph "3" may be used as a substitute for yogh (Template:Unicode) or ze (Template:Unicode) when those characters are not available.
• Three is the minimum odd number of voting components for simple easy redundancy checks by direct comparison.
• Three is approximately pi (actually closer to 3.14159) when doing rapid engineering guesses or estimates. The same is true if one wants a rough-and-ready estimate of e, which is actually approximately 2.7183.
• Some computer users may use "3" as an alternate to the letter "E", often in jest or to prevent search engines from reading their messages. This form of code is an example of basic Leetspeak.
• "3" is the DVD region code for many East Asian countries, except for Japan (which is Region 2) and China (which is Region 6).

In music

• In music, the Roman numeral iii is the mediant scale degree, chord, or diatonic function, when distinguished III = major and iii = minor.
• Three is the number of performers in a trio.
• There are 3 notes in a triad, the most important and basic form of any chord.
• The tritone, which divides the octave into 3 equally spaced notes (root, tritone, octave) is the rarest interval of any mode, only occurring semantically twice, and physically once. It is the only interval that, when inverted, remains unchanged functionally and harmonically.
• The 3/4 time signature of Western classical music tradition (Three beats to a measure, with the quarter note comprising the beat.) is said to represent the Holy Trinity of Christian doctrine, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is for this reason that it is often utilized in compositions which were written for use in ecclesiastical rites, or that are inspired by scriptural/spiritual themes and texts.
• In Indian classical music, three equal repetitions of a rhythmic pattern is a common device called tihai.
• 3rd Bridge, an extended technique on string instruments.

In geography

[[File:Flag of Sicily (revised).svg|thumb|Flag of Trinacria with a three-legged symbol.]]

• Several cities are known as Tripoli from Greek for "three cities".
• Sicilia was known as Trinacria for its triangle-shape.
• Three Mile Island is known for a nuclear accident.
• Several cities are also known as Triad Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro NC

In filmography

• Three is a 1969 film starring Charlotte Rampling and Sam Waterston.
• Three is a 1965 Yugoslavian film directed by Aleksandar Petrović.
• Three is a 2002 Asian horror movie collaboration.
• Thr3e is a 2007 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ted Dekker.
• Three, also known as Survival Island is a 2006 film starring Billy Zane and Kelly Brook.
• There is a 1977 film titled 3 Women.
• In both the film The Craft and the fantasy television series Charmed, the "power of three" has been used as part of wiccan incantations.

In sports

• In bowling, 3 strikes in a row is called a turkey.
• In ice hockey, a game consists of 3 periods of twenty minutes each.
• In rugby union, 3 is the jersey number of the starting tighthead prop. It is also the number of points received for a successful drop goal or penalty kick.
• In rugby league, 3 is the jersey number of the starting right centre threequarter.
• In baseball, 3 is the number of strikes before the batter is out and the number of outs per side per inning. It also represents the first baseman's position. The number 3 position in the batting order is generally occupied by the team's best hitter. In high school and college, 3 is the maximum "drop" (inches of length minus ounces of weight) for a legal bat. 3 is the retired number of Baseball Hall of Fame players Babe Ruth, Joe Medwick, Bill Terry, and Harmon Killebrew. Gary Sheffield and Ken Griffey Jr wear the number three.
• In basketball, a shot made from behind the three-point arc is worth 3 points. 3 is used to represent the small forward position. In addition, a potential "three-point play" exists when a player is fouled while successfully completing a two-point field goal, thus being awarded one additional free-throw attempt.
• Is the number of the famous NASCAR stock car that Dale Earnhardt drove for nearly 20 years before his death in 2001. He won 6 out of his 7 championships while driving the #3 car. Although NASCAR does not officially retire numbers, no one has driven the 3 car since his death. In IROC, Hélio Castroneves had his car number changed from his standard 3 (which he drives in the Indy Racing League) to number 03.
• Traditional number for the Tyrrell Formula One team's first car along with number 4 for the second until the end of the 1995 Formula One Season.
• A hat-trick in sports is associated with succeeding at anything three times in three consecutive attempts, as well as when any player in ice hockey or soccer scores three goals in one game (whether or not in succession). In Cricket, 3 outs in a row is called a hat trick.
• In volleyball, is the number of sets needed to be won to win the whole match.
• In both American and Canadian football, the number of points received for a successful field goal. (An exception is in six-man football where the field goal is worth four points.)
• In Canadian football, the last down before a team loses possession on downs. Usually, a team faced with a third down will punt (if far from the opponent's goal line) or attempt a field goal (if relatively close).
• An Ironman triathlon consists of three events, a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) swim, a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and a 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometer) marathon run.
• In football, number 3 is assigned in most cases to the left defender or fullback.
• On March 24, 2006 the number 3 became the second number retired by the New Jersey Devils in honor of defenseman Ken Daneyko.

In literature

• 3 is the number of witches in William Shakespeare's Macbeth.
• 3 is the number of words or phrases in a Tripartite motto.
• 3 is the number of novels or films in a trilogy and the number of interconnected works of art in a triptych.
• The tricolon is often used for rhetorical effect.
• Thr3e is a 2003 suspense novel written by Thriller author Ted Dekker.
• Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy has three parts each of thirty-three cantos (plus one introductory canto totaling 100). It was written in terza rima, a combination of tercets. All of this is an allusion to the Christian Trinity.
• The number three recurs several times in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and also in The Silmarillion. Three Rings of Power were given to the Elves. There are three Silmarils. The unions of the Eldar (Elves) and the Edain (Men) were three in number: Beren and Lúthien, Tuor and Idril, and (of course) Aragorn and Arwen.
• Three Blind Mice is a children's nursery rhyme and musical round.
• The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, and is part of a trilogy.
• Three Sisters is a play by Anton Chekhov.
• A recurring theme in Arthur C. Clarke's Rama series is the observation that "the Ramans do everything in threes."
• The Three Bears – children's classic literature
• The Three Little Pigs – children's classic literature.
• 3 is the number of wishes normally granted in most fairy tales and stories. Likewise, the protagonist in most stories faces 3 conflicts, whether mental or physical before his or her great triumph.
• "Threes" is a poem by Carl Sandburg.
• In many Czech folktales, a great beast of some sort will, if bound in some manner, usually be bound by three chains, hooks, ropes, etc., and a menial task must be repeated three times to free it.
• The number 3 is often used as a literary device to provoke a feeling of unnaturalness, as twos are much more common in nature (limbs, hemispheres, eyes, etc). This is a prevailing theme in Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451. The aliens and their machines in the 2005 film War of the Worlds were associated with features recurring in threes: eyes, legs, fingers, etc, for this same reason.
• The Day of the Triffids, 1951 by John Wyndham. Alien plants with three legs invade earth.
• The number three is a recurring theme in the Series of Unfortunate Events: there are three Baudelaire orphans, three Snickett orphans, three Quagmire orphans, etc...

Original scholarly articles/reviews about the three

• "The Number Three in The American Culture". A selected chapter found in the book entitled Every Man His Way (1967–68) by Alan Dundes.
• "People in Threes Going Up in Smoke and Other Triplicities in Russian Literature and Culture" (Fall 2005, Rocky Mountain Review) by Lee B. Croft.
• "Buckland's Third Revolution" (1997–98) and "Three Wise Men" (1984–85) posters by Herb O. Buckland.

In other fields

Template:/doc<noinclude> [[File:ICS Three.svg|right|thumb|100px|International maritime signal flag for 3 is known as a triband, a form of the tricolour.]] [[File:Orlowski podrozny.jpg|thumb|Travelling in a troika (three-horse sled).]] Three is:

• The number of golf balls on the moon.
• The number of values promoted in the French Revolution (liberty, equality, fraternity), and the number of colors in the French flag.
• A brand of 3G mobile phones.
• The number of stars in "Pacific's triple star" referred to in "God Defend New Zealand", one of New Zealand's two national anthems.
• The television VHF channel most often used for hooking up VCRs and/or video game systems. If it is otherwise occupied by a local broadcaster, then channel 4 is used instead.

Also:

• The phrase "Third time's the charm" (or, rarely, "Three time's the charm") usually means that the third time a person attempts something, he or she will succeed. This is also sometimes seen in reverse, as in "third man [to do something, presumably forbidden] gets caught".
• In Astrology, Gemini is the 3rd astrological sign of the Zodiac.
• In paleontology, trilobites are named as such because their bodies are divided in three longitudinal lobes.
• In leet, the numeral "3" can be used to represent the letter "E" due to their obvious visual similarities, as in: "3}{4|\/|/>13" ("example").

References

• Wells, D. The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers London: Penguin Group. (1987): 46–48