Third Time’s a Charm

Repeatedly, newscasters noted that the “third time’s a charm,” referring to the successful lift-off of the Columbia space shuttle after two aborted attempts. Why three?

In American culture, three is the most-favored number. This attitude may be related to the emphasis on the number three in ancient Greek, Roman or Indo-European cultures. Alan Dundes, a noted folklorist, claims that the prominence of three in contemporary life accounts for the “snap, crackle, pop” in cereal advertisements; the “ready, set, go” of children’s games; and the “reading, writing, arithmetic” canon of education.

While these threes bode well, other threes predict doom, such as “going down for the third time,” “three on a match,” “three strikes, you’re out.”

Yet three as a sacred number is not universal. Many Native American tribes utilize the number four. The Mescalero Apache Mountain Spirit Dance for girls’ coming of age ceremonies lasts four days. Initiates complete four ritual runs; the ceremonial tepee has four primary wooden supports; there must be at least four dancers who approach the ceremonial tepee four times; girls receive pollen marks on their bodies in four places. In other tribes, five is the special number as it is in parts of South America and China. Be it three, four or five, these numbers provide pegs that cultures endow with significance.