The Art of Humor: The Comic Triple

Why’s 3 the magic number in comedy? Read this article to find out, ya dummy!

My sister’s cat has this horrible habit of chewing on things, like shoelaces, pillows, and kneecaps.

While true, this statement wouldn’t have been as funny if I had mentioned kneecaps earlier in the sequence, and it definitely wouldn’t have been as funny if I had listed out what my sister’s cat likes to chomp on in a series of four, five, or more things.

And I think there’s a reason for that.

As I’ve set out to develop my wit to attract audiences, followers, and women of loose morals who only want me for my body, I’ve noticed a common approach that comedians, writers, and other purveyors of humor use to structure their words to whimsical effect. In the world of writing, grouping things into threes is unimaginatively referred to as the “Rule of Three”. However, in the world of comedy, it is unimaginatively referred to as the “Comic Triple”.

Now, lame labels aside until used later in this article, this formula — this literary ménage à trois — has been around for decades in comedy, and even longer in the history of language. For whatever reason, triplets just lend themselves to words, and are effective at engaging readers, crowds, and those women of loose…