Why is it always "two things"?

[Gerbil Wheel]

In business, on TV, talk radio, etc. I frequently hear someone citing "two things".

Example: when a co-worker, boss, consultant, a maven in the media, etc. is making a point, they will often say, "two things -- first, blah blah blah, and second -- blah blah blah..."

It's never one thing, three things, or four things, it's always TWO things.

I hear this ALL THE TIME.

Anyone else?

 

[dex]

Look up 'the rule of 3'

 

[travelover]

Why? Well, there are really two reasons............

 

[avengerki]

Two things about that. First most people are simpletons and can only thing two things in advance and second when someone says alright I see a few things wrong with that the other person will start arguing before the second item is finished being stated.

 

[bbbamI]

I guess because...'if it's not one thing, it's another'.....

 

[Purron]

yin and yang

 

[bbbamI]

Laurel and Hardy....

 

[Gerbil Wheel]

Hmmm didn't think about that....dualism might explain it...in our collective unconscious perhaps...

 

[donheff]

With speeches the default was always to start with a promiss to talk about 3 things, briefly state them, expand on each, and close with a concluding summary. With 60 second limits maybe the TV guys can't go with a full blown speech.

 

[rescueme]

Two 4 U:


Three 4 Thee:


Of course we could talk about what each of these pictures represent (what kind of relationship did Batman & Robin really have in those early years, and did Batgirl come between them later on?), but that's just some net humor ...

 

[Automatika]

If is not one thing its another.... Doesn't leave much room for anything else does it?

 

[MichaelB]

Short attention spans.
Must limit TV answers to less than 45 seconds.

 

[Onward]

Three things are more poetic: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Four's not bad: John, Paul, George, Ringo.

 

[EllisWyatt]

Of course, as my computer literate friend would write, there are REALLY 10 types of people in the world -

Those who understand binary, and those who don't....

 

[FurBall]

Whenever someone says 'two things" I picture Thing 1 and Thing 2. Thanks Dr Seuss.

 

[Bestwifeever]

It's the one-two punch?

 

[RunningBum]

I haven't heard the "two things" enough to notice, but I don't watch those business shows much. The one that drives me nuts is the "bad things happen in 3s" claim. I mean, like the day that Jacko and Farrah died, people went scrambling to find a 3rd. Say, didn't Ed McMahon die a couple days ago? That's it! See, these things happen in 3s!

 

[W2R]

Two? no no! Let's hear it for THREE

Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Three Blind Mice.
The Three Little Pigs.

Or, if fairy tales don't float your boat, then we have

The Three Musketeers.
Three dimensional space.
Peter, Paul, and Mary
and so many more
...