The Number Three

The number three has a lot importance, coming up over and over again in conversation, superstition and simple daily life.  One belief is bad things always happen in threes and quite often that is the case.  In decorating, the three rule is used for displays usually organized as a short piece, a medium piece and a tall piece.  Photos on display look better grouped as three as do candles or any other like grouping.  On the ominous note, the sign of the devil is 666 a multiple of three containing three numerals.  The number three appears in nursery rhymes (eg. three little pigs, three billy goats gruff) and children's stories (eg. The Three Musketeers).  Then there are three strikes you're out in baseball, chances to stay in someone's good graces or stay out of legal hot water in the judicial system.  Even certain gambling is based on threes!  Older slot machines were based on three, using three coins and three wheels.  There are six sides on a die (a multiple of three) and the highest score you can get on a pair of dice is twelve, another multip of three.  Some genetic disorders are caused by an extra chromosome.  These are the trisomies (eg. Trisomy 21 aka Down's Syndrome).  Have you ever noticed plant leaves ordered in threes?  That can be a good thing or a bad thing.  Clover, a benign and beneficial plant for bees has three leaves yet the saying is leaves three leave them be when refering to poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. 

The number three has a bit of a personal meaning to me.  Unless I am exhausted, I wake at three each morning just like clockwork and my normal sleep pattern is a three hour stretch on any given night.  There is a physiological reason for this.  During the body's normal circadium rhythm, the corticosteriod level is lowest between 3 - 4 AM which is why those using corticosteriods for asthma control are told to take their corticosteriod inhaler/tubohaler around 4 PM.  An asthma flare-up is more likely when corticosteriod levels are lowest and for most asthmatics it is when the are more apt to be exposed to dust mites that can trigger an asthma flare-up.  I haven't used my turbohaler in almost four years which is a good thing but it does mean I never sleep through the night.  At some point I may have to go back to using corticorsteriods but for the meantime my body is enjoying the rest from the side effects.  I'm sure my bones will thank me at some point!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011