Last time I promised you a super cool super secret way of phrasing any joke that increases its chances of success by a billion percent! I’m a man of my word, so I’m bringing it to you today!
The number three is a strange, powerful, and important number. I’m purposefully leaving all Douglas Adams jokes at the door. If the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything were truly a number it would be the number three.
- Three has religious significance in western culture with the Holy Trinity. (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit). Also note the THREE Wise Men and the THREE Hebrew forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
- Three has musical significance. The triad is one of the fundamental building blocks of music theory.
- Three is one of the cornerstones of geometry. Specifically the Pythagorean Theorem which has special significance to the world of artwork and architecture.
- Our government is “Of the people, By the people, For the people”.
- A Haiku has THREE lines.
- Goldilocks and the THREE bears.
- The THREE little pigs.
- The THREE Musketeers.
- The THREE Stooges.
- Three is the smallest number of people you gather and have an outsider.
Trust me, when you start looking for it you’ll start seeing three’s everywhere. The world of comedy is no different. Three is a golden number here as well.
Think about it… How many jokes are there about a Priest, a Minister, and a Rabbi?
Perhaps the best modern day illustration of the power of three in comedy is the Blue Man Group. The best way to watch Blue Man is in one of their smaller theaters (like New York or Chicago). When you watch them in an arena you lose the intimacy that makes their material work.
There are three characters in the show. The entire show is built around the power of three. The absolute best example of this is the “Captain Crunch Skit”. Watch the first couple minutes of this YouTube video.
Notice that they take turns being the outsider. At first it’s the Blue Man on the left because his face is covered with cereal. Later it’s the Blue Man on the right because of his oversized box. The final laugh comes from the surprise (!) when he chooses to conform.
So how can you apply this?
Whenever you are writing a joke about a group of people, always make sure there are three of them. When you make a list, always make the third item is the punch line. Whenever possible, phrase your joke using the power of three and you’re almost guaranteed success!
We’re almost done with this series on why stuff is funny, but there’s one more post left! Be sure to check in next time when we’ll be talking about foul language, vulgarity, and the infamous three letter “S” word that ends in “X”!
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BONUS INSIGHT!
I re-watched Napoleon Dynamite last night and noticed that it makes good use of the power of three! Most notably in one of the opening scenes. We see…
A.) A group of boys playing basketball. The camera then pans to…
B.) A group of girls halfheartedly playing basketball. The camera then pans again to…
C.) Napoleon awkwardly pounding a tetherball!
1 – 2 – 3! Seriously… It’s everywhere and it works. Design your humor with three in mind!
Image Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trishhamilton/ / CC BY 2.0