Three

Three is the second smallest prime number, the next is five.

3 goes into 9 exactly 3 times, so fractions with 3 in the denominator have a single digit repeating sequences in their decimal expansions. A natural number is divisible by three if and only if its decimal digit sum is divisible by 3.

Many human cultures have given the concept of three-ness symbolic meanings:

• The Holy Trinity in Christian doctrine
• The process of synthesis in Hegelian dialectic creates three-ness from two-ness

Three (三 pinyin san1) is considered a good number in Chinese culture because it sounds like the word "alive" (生 pinyin sheng1), compare to four.

Three is also:

• the number of musicians in a trio.

Decals and bumper stickers bearing the phrase "In Memory of 3" are references to NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.

1. Three's Company[?]
2. Three of a Kind[?]