Why do we say certain things *three times*, e.g., “Mayday. Mayday. Mayday”?












17















Repetition is a key characteristic of communication in the control tower, cockpit, and control room. Some phrases, like "Mayday" get repeated. The speaker says the same thing three times. We know this is for redundancy.



Why exactly three times?



Why not twice or four times? Is there research suggesting three is the most effective number, or is there a historical reason for the convention?










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  • 2





    It sounds like you're asking why three, rather than two or four. In other words, you're not just asking "why do we say it three times"; you're asking "why is three the number of times that we say it". Is that right?

    – Tanner Swett
    yesterday






  • 15





    That literally means the exact same thing.

    – Ryan Mortensen
    yesterday






  • 4





    For the same reason as Beetlejuice.

    – Harper
    yesterday






  • 16





    @RyanMortensen No, there's a difference in emphasis. The questions "Why do we say it three times?" and "Why do we say it exactly three times, rather than two or four?" are different questions that invite different answers. If you said "It's for redundancy", that would answer the first question, but not the second.

    – Tanner Swett
    yesterday






  • 14





    Five is right out.

    – Henning Makholm
    16 hours ago
















17















Repetition is a key characteristic of communication in the control tower, cockpit, and control room. Some phrases, like "Mayday" get repeated. The speaker says the same thing three times. We know this is for redundancy.



Why exactly three times?



Why not twice or four times? Is there research suggesting three is the most effective number, or is there a historical reason for the convention?










share|improve this question




















  • 2





    It sounds like you're asking why three, rather than two or four. In other words, you're not just asking "why do we say it three times"; you're asking "why is three the number of times that we say it". Is that right?

    – Tanner Swett
    yesterday






  • 15





    That literally means the exact same thing.

    – Ryan Mortensen
    yesterday






  • 4





    For the same reason as Beetlejuice.

    – Harper
    yesterday






  • 16





    @RyanMortensen No, there's a difference in emphasis. The questions "Why do we say it three times?" and "Why do we say it exactly three times, rather than two or four?" are different questions that invite different answers. If you said "It's for redundancy", that would answer the first question, but not the second.

    – Tanner Swett
    yesterday






  • 14





    Five is right out.

    – Henning Makholm
    16 hours ago














17












17








17


1






Repetition is a key characteristic of communication in the control tower, cockpit, and control room. Some phrases, like "Mayday" get repeated. The speaker says the same thing three times. We know this is for redundancy.



Why exactly three times?



Why not twice or four times? Is there research suggesting three is the most effective number, or is there a historical reason for the convention?










share|improve this question
















Repetition is a key characteristic of communication in the control tower, cockpit, and control room. Some phrases, like "Mayday" get repeated. The speaker says the same thing three times. We know this is for redundancy.



Why exactly three times?



Why not twice or four times? Is there research suggesting three is the most effective number, or is there a historical reason for the convention?







safety radio-communications






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 11 hours ago







Mark Jones Jr.

















asked yesterday









Mark Jones Jr.Mark Jones Jr.

790419




790419








  • 2





    It sounds like you're asking why three, rather than two or four. In other words, you're not just asking "why do we say it three times"; you're asking "why is three the number of times that we say it". Is that right?

    – Tanner Swett
    yesterday






  • 15





    That literally means the exact same thing.

    – Ryan Mortensen
    yesterday






  • 4





    For the same reason as Beetlejuice.

    – Harper
    yesterday






  • 16





    @RyanMortensen No, there's a difference in emphasis. The questions "Why do we say it three times?" and "Why do we say it exactly three times, rather than two or four?" are different questions that invite different answers. If you said "It's for redundancy", that would answer the first question, but not the second.

    – Tanner Swett
    yesterday






  • 14





    Five is right out.

    – Henning Makholm
    16 hours ago














  • 2





    It sounds like you're asking why three, rather than two or four. In other words, you're not just asking "why do we say it three times"; you're asking "why is three the number of times that we say it". Is that right?

    – Tanner Swett
    yesterday






  • 15





    That literally means the exact same thing.

    – Ryan Mortensen
    yesterday






  • 4





    For the same reason as Beetlejuice.

    – Harper
    yesterday






  • 16





    @RyanMortensen No, there's a difference in emphasis. The questions "Why do we say it three times?" and "Why do we say it exactly three times, rather than two or four?" are different questions that invite different answers. If you said "It's for redundancy", that would answer the first question, but not the second.

    – Tanner Swett
    yesterday






  • 14





    Five is right out.

    – Henning Makholm
    16 hours ago








2




2





It sounds like you're asking why three, rather than two or four. In other words, you're not just asking "why do we say it three times"; you're asking "why is three the number of times that we say it". Is that right?

– Tanner Swett
yesterday





It sounds like you're asking why three, rather than two or four. In other words, you're not just asking "why do we say it three times"; you're asking "why is three the number of times that we say it". Is that right?

– Tanner Swett
yesterday




15




15





That literally means the exact same thing.

– Ryan Mortensen
yesterday





That literally means the exact same thing.

– Ryan Mortensen
yesterday




4




4





For the same reason as Beetlejuice.

– Harper
yesterday





For the same reason as Beetlejuice.

– Harper
yesterday




16




16





@RyanMortensen No, there's a difference in emphasis. The questions "Why do we say it three times?" and "Why do we say it exactly three times, rather than two or four?" are different questions that invite different answers. If you said "It's for redundancy", that would answer the first question, but not the second.

– Tanner Swett
yesterday





@RyanMortensen No, there's a difference in emphasis. The questions "Why do we say it three times?" and "Why do we say it exactly three times, rather than two or four?" are different questions that invite different answers. If you said "It's for redundancy", that would answer the first question, but not the second.

– Tanner Swett
yesterday




14




14





Five is right out.

– Henning Makholm
16 hours ago





Five is right out.

– Henning Makholm
16 hours ago










7 Answers
7






active

oldest

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32














Yep, the critical commands are repeated 3 times. This insures there is ABSOLUTELY zero doubt in anyone's mind (especially on a big crew airplane) what needs to be done in a critical situation. It also standardizes these criticalities across different aircraft and aircrew cultures. "Bail out, bail out, bail out" "Eject, eject, eject" "Abort abort abort." "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan." I was 27 years a USAF pilot, and this is how the training has worked for over 50 years. I only saw these terms used 2-3 times, but it certainly gets your attention and amps up the sense of urgency. A little history: back in the day of very poor radio communications, it was necessary to repeat to "get someone's attention" or in the event a single "mayday" didn't come across when the transmit button was pressed.






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Scotty is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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  • 2





    Need clarification. Does emergency "pan" only mentioned 3 times? I heard a senior commercial pilot said that it must be mentioned six times as it only 1 syllable: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan".

    – AirCraft Lover
    yesterday






  • 2





    @AirCraftLover I believe this is is correct. I read a pronunciation manual that described it as "Pahn-pahn", so that would be one iteration, not two, so you're right. 3 pairs of two "pan"s.

    – Ryan Mortensen
    yesterday






  • 8





    @AirCraft Lover If you take a look at historical editions of ITU's Radio Regulations, and compare it with current, you'll be able to see that there's been a change. The urgency signal was changed from "pan" to "pan-pan". Therefore, it is repeated 3 times, and not 6, but the signal itself has word pan two times in it now.

    – AndrejaKo
    yesterday








  • 3





    The question does ask about research and historical convention on the number of repetitions. No answer has addressed this part of the question. Whether there is research, there is definitely historical convention about saying things three times for emphasis, that goes back thousands of years.

    – JdeBP
    yesterday






  • 2





    I agree with @JdeBP -- since the dawn of radio telephony (or telegraph), is there historical evidence for why it is repeated exactly three times.

    – Mark Jones Jr.
    11 hours ago



















7














Procedure calls for the mayday distress signal to be said three times in a row so that it won't be mistaken for another word or phrase that sounds similar under noisy conditions. The use of Mayday dates back to 1923 when it was first used because it sounded like the French word m'aider, which means “Help me." In those early days of radio it was necessary to repeat things sometimes because of interference on the frequency from various potential sources.



The "rule of three" is rooted in research conducted in 1890 by Herman Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist. Ebbinghuas studied how many rehearsals were necessary for his test subjects to memorize a list of nonsense syllables. He came up with three as the optimal number, and that became a rule of thumb in many other things, such as advertising.



Here's a cool video that adds addition info on Mayday and Pan Pan.





share










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Clint Kearns is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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  • While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review

    – bogl
    5 hours ago











  • I have edited Clint's answer to provide the other information that makes it a more complete answer.

    – Juan Jimenez
    4 hours ago





















5














There are no instances in normal conversation where the same word is repeated three times consecutively. In order to prevent a critical command or order from being issued or heard accidentally, a command is given three times in order to verify that it is being given intentionally.



Going to the moon? “Launch! Launch! Launch!”






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  • 2





    This doesn't seem at all sensible, since any given phrase could be only heard once by the receiver if e.g. the first copy was snapped by a button delay and the second lost in static. The answer by Scotty provides the much more sensible historic basis: three times for redundancy.

    – Nij
    yesterday



















1














the reason for the repetition of mayday mayday mayday is for receiver of the messages can hear the callings, if the first mayday calling is breaking, the second mayday calling maybe be heard, and totally sure the third mayday the messages needs to be convey along with the mayday






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  • 4





    This answer could be greatly improved by beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending it with a period. I can't tell where the sentences here begin and end.

    – Tanner Swett
    13 hours ago



















1














I assume it's for redundancy. Assuming the voice signal is very noisy, the listener might hear two different things, the first and second time. The third repetition can then be used to decide which of the two versions heard is more likely to be the correct one.



Majority voting with three signals is very common in redundant systems. In computing it is called TMR (triple modular redundancy).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_modular_redundancy






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    0














    Because human brains are slow and easily distracted?



    The first time you heard it - you started listening.



    The second time you heard it - you started listening properly, because you know it's important



    The third time confirmed you heard what you thought you heard?





    This is just my unresearched perception of what's going on, and why we naturally settled on saying thing 3 times when it's imperative that it's heard properly.






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      -3














      SOS - Although not repeated three times, it is written in three words.






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      • 1





        SOS isn't used on radiotelephony. Should “mayday” be preferred over “SOS” in an emergency? Also, even on telegraphy, SOS is sent as a prosign, not as three distinct letters. It's ...---..., not ... --- .... Writing it as SOS is simply a mnenomic; any other set of letters that comes out to the same sound (for example, VGI) could be used instead.

        – a CVn
        4 hours ago












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      7 Answers
      7






      active

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      7 Answers
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      active

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      active

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      32














      Yep, the critical commands are repeated 3 times. This insures there is ABSOLUTELY zero doubt in anyone's mind (especially on a big crew airplane) what needs to be done in a critical situation. It also standardizes these criticalities across different aircraft and aircrew cultures. "Bail out, bail out, bail out" "Eject, eject, eject" "Abort abort abort." "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan." I was 27 years a USAF pilot, and this is how the training has worked for over 50 years. I only saw these terms used 2-3 times, but it certainly gets your attention and amps up the sense of urgency. A little history: back in the day of very poor radio communications, it was necessary to repeat to "get someone's attention" or in the event a single "mayday" didn't come across when the transmit button was pressed.






      share|improve this answer










      New contributor




      Scotty is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.
















      • 2





        Need clarification. Does emergency "pan" only mentioned 3 times? I heard a senior commercial pilot said that it must be mentioned six times as it only 1 syllable: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan".

        – AirCraft Lover
        yesterday






      • 2





        @AirCraftLover I believe this is is correct. I read a pronunciation manual that described it as "Pahn-pahn", so that would be one iteration, not two, so you're right. 3 pairs of two "pan"s.

        – Ryan Mortensen
        yesterday






      • 8





        @AirCraft Lover If you take a look at historical editions of ITU's Radio Regulations, and compare it with current, you'll be able to see that there's been a change. The urgency signal was changed from "pan" to "pan-pan". Therefore, it is repeated 3 times, and not 6, but the signal itself has word pan two times in it now.

        – AndrejaKo
        yesterday








      • 3





        The question does ask about research and historical convention on the number of repetitions. No answer has addressed this part of the question. Whether there is research, there is definitely historical convention about saying things three times for emphasis, that goes back thousands of years.

        – JdeBP
        yesterday






      • 2





        I agree with @JdeBP -- since the dawn of radio telephony (or telegraph), is there historical evidence for why it is repeated exactly three times.

        – Mark Jones Jr.
        11 hours ago
















      32














      Yep, the critical commands are repeated 3 times. This insures there is ABSOLUTELY zero doubt in anyone's mind (especially on a big crew airplane) what needs to be done in a critical situation. It also standardizes these criticalities across different aircraft and aircrew cultures. "Bail out, bail out, bail out" "Eject, eject, eject" "Abort abort abort." "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan." I was 27 years a USAF pilot, and this is how the training has worked for over 50 years. I only saw these terms used 2-3 times, but it certainly gets your attention and amps up the sense of urgency. A little history: back in the day of very poor radio communications, it was necessary to repeat to "get someone's attention" or in the event a single "mayday" didn't come across when the transmit button was pressed.






      share|improve this answer










      New contributor




      Scotty is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.
















      • 2





        Need clarification. Does emergency "pan" only mentioned 3 times? I heard a senior commercial pilot said that it must be mentioned six times as it only 1 syllable: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan".

        – AirCraft Lover
        yesterday






      • 2





        @AirCraftLover I believe this is is correct. I read a pronunciation manual that described it as "Pahn-pahn", so that would be one iteration, not two, so you're right. 3 pairs of two "pan"s.

        – Ryan Mortensen
        yesterday






      • 8





        @AirCraft Lover If you take a look at historical editions of ITU's Radio Regulations, and compare it with current, you'll be able to see that there's been a change. The urgency signal was changed from "pan" to "pan-pan". Therefore, it is repeated 3 times, and not 6, but the signal itself has word pan two times in it now.

        – AndrejaKo
        yesterday








      • 3





        The question does ask about research and historical convention on the number of repetitions. No answer has addressed this part of the question. Whether there is research, there is definitely historical convention about saying things three times for emphasis, that goes back thousands of years.

        – JdeBP
        yesterday






      • 2





        I agree with @JdeBP -- since the dawn of radio telephony (or telegraph), is there historical evidence for why it is repeated exactly three times.

        – Mark Jones Jr.
        11 hours ago














      32












      32








      32







      Yep, the critical commands are repeated 3 times. This insures there is ABSOLUTELY zero doubt in anyone's mind (especially on a big crew airplane) what needs to be done in a critical situation. It also standardizes these criticalities across different aircraft and aircrew cultures. "Bail out, bail out, bail out" "Eject, eject, eject" "Abort abort abort." "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan." I was 27 years a USAF pilot, and this is how the training has worked for over 50 years. I only saw these terms used 2-3 times, but it certainly gets your attention and amps up the sense of urgency. A little history: back in the day of very poor radio communications, it was necessary to repeat to "get someone's attention" or in the event a single "mayday" didn't come across when the transmit button was pressed.






      share|improve this answer










      New contributor




      Scotty is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.










      Yep, the critical commands are repeated 3 times. This insures there is ABSOLUTELY zero doubt in anyone's mind (especially on a big crew airplane) what needs to be done in a critical situation. It also standardizes these criticalities across different aircraft and aircrew cultures. "Bail out, bail out, bail out" "Eject, eject, eject" "Abort abort abort." "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan." I was 27 years a USAF pilot, and this is how the training has worked for over 50 years. I only saw these terms used 2-3 times, but it certainly gets your attention and amps up the sense of urgency. A little history: back in the day of very poor radio communications, it was necessary to repeat to "get someone's attention" or in the event a single "mayday" didn't come across when the transmit button was pressed.







      share|improve this answer










      New contributor




      Scotty is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited 10 hours ago









      Mark Jones Jr.

      790419




      790419






      New contributor




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      answered yesterday









      ScottyScotty

      28113




      28113




      New contributor




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      New contributor





      Scotty is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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      Scotty is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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      • 2





        Need clarification. Does emergency "pan" only mentioned 3 times? I heard a senior commercial pilot said that it must be mentioned six times as it only 1 syllable: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan".

        – AirCraft Lover
        yesterday






      • 2





        @AirCraftLover I believe this is is correct. I read a pronunciation manual that described it as "Pahn-pahn", so that would be one iteration, not two, so you're right. 3 pairs of two "pan"s.

        – Ryan Mortensen
        yesterday






      • 8





        @AirCraft Lover If you take a look at historical editions of ITU's Radio Regulations, and compare it with current, you'll be able to see that there's been a change. The urgency signal was changed from "pan" to "pan-pan". Therefore, it is repeated 3 times, and not 6, but the signal itself has word pan two times in it now.

        – AndrejaKo
        yesterday








      • 3





        The question does ask about research and historical convention on the number of repetitions. No answer has addressed this part of the question. Whether there is research, there is definitely historical convention about saying things three times for emphasis, that goes back thousands of years.

        – JdeBP
        yesterday






      • 2





        I agree with @JdeBP -- since the dawn of radio telephony (or telegraph), is there historical evidence for why it is repeated exactly three times.

        – Mark Jones Jr.
        11 hours ago














      • 2





        Need clarification. Does emergency "pan" only mentioned 3 times? I heard a senior commercial pilot said that it must be mentioned six times as it only 1 syllable: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan".

        – AirCraft Lover
        yesterday






      • 2





        @AirCraftLover I believe this is is correct. I read a pronunciation manual that described it as "Pahn-pahn", so that would be one iteration, not two, so you're right. 3 pairs of two "pan"s.

        – Ryan Mortensen
        yesterday






      • 8





        @AirCraft Lover If you take a look at historical editions of ITU's Radio Regulations, and compare it with current, you'll be able to see that there's been a change. The urgency signal was changed from "pan" to "pan-pan". Therefore, it is repeated 3 times, and not 6, but the signal itself has word pan two times in it now.

        – AndrejaKo
        yesterday








      • 3





        The question does ask about research and historical convention on the number of repetitions. No answer has addressed this part of the question. Whether there is research, there is definitely historical convention about saying things three times for emphasis, that goes back thousands of years.

        – JdeBP
        yesterday






      • 2





        I agree with @JdeBP -- since the dawn of radio telephony (or telegraph), is there historical evidence for why it is repeated exactly three times.

        – Mark Jones Jr.
        11 hours ago








      2




      2





      Need clarification. Does emergency "pan" only mentioned 3 times? I heard a senior commercial pilot said that it must be mentioned six times as it only 1 syllable: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan".

      – AirCraft Lover
      yesterday





      Need clarification. Does emergency "pan" only mentioned 3 times? I heard a senior commercial pilot said that it must be mentioned six times as it only 1 syllable: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan".

      – AirCraft Lover
      yesterday




      2




      2





      @AirCraftLover I believe this is is correct. I read a pronunciation manual that described it as "Pahn-pahn", so that would be one iteration, not two, so you're right. 3 pairs of two "pan"s.

      – Ryan Mortensen
      yesterday





      @AirCraftLover I believe this is is correct. I read a pronunciation manual that described it as "Pahn-pahn", so that would be one iteration, not two, so you're right. 3 pairs of two "pan"s.

      – Ryan Mortensen
      yesterday




      8




      8





      @AirCraft Lover If you take a look at historical editions of ITU's Radio Regulations, and compare it with current, you'll be able to see that there's been a change. The urgency signal was changed from "pan" to "pan-pan". Therefore, it is repeated 3 times, and not 6, but the signal itself has word pan two times in it now.

      – AndrejaKo
      yesterday







      @AirCraft Lover If you take a look at historical editions of ITU's Radio Regulations, and compare it with current, you'll be able to see that there's been a change. The urgency signal was changed from "pan" to "pan-pan". Therefore, it is repeated 3 times, and not 6, but the signal itself has word pan two times in it now.

      – AndrejaKo
      yesterday






      3




      3





      The question does ask about research and historical convention on the number of repetitions. No answer has addressed this part of the question. Whether there is research, there is definitely historical convention about saying things three times for emphasis, that goes back thousands of years.

      – JdeBP
      yesterday





      The question does ask about research and historical convention on the number of repetitions. No answer has addressed this part of the question. Whether there is research, there is definitely historical convention about saying things three times for emphasis, that goes back thousands of years.

      – JdeBP
      yesterday




      2




      2





      I agree with @JdeBP -- since the dawn of radio telephony (or telegraph), is there historical evidence for why it is repeated exactly three times.

      – Mark Jones Jr.
      11 hours ago





      I agree with @JdeBP -- since the dawn of radio telephony (or telegraph), is there historical evidence for why it is repeated exactly three times.

      – Mark Jones Jr.
      11 hours ago











      7














      Procedure calls for the mayday distress signal to be said three times in a row so that it won't be mistaken for another word or phrase that sounds similar under noisy conditions. The use of Mayday dates back to 1923 when it was first used because it sounded like the French word m'aider, which means “Help me." In those early days of radio it was necessary to repeat things sometimes because of interference on the frequency from various potential sources.



      The "rule of three" is rooted in research conducted in 1890 by Herman Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist. Ebbinghuas studied how many rehearsals were necessary for his test subjects to memorize a list of nonsense syllables. He came up with three as the optimal number, and that became a rule of thumb in many other things, such as advertising.



      Here's a cool video that adds addition info on Mayday and Pan Pan.





      share










      New contributor




      Clint Kearns is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.





















      • While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review

        – bogl
        5 hours ago











      • I have edited Clint's answer to provide the other information that makes it a more complete answer.

        – Juan Jimenez
        4 hours ago


















      7














      Procedure calls for the mayday distress signal to be said three times in a row so that it won't be mistaken for another word or phrase that sounds similar under noisy conditions. The use of Mayday dates back to 1923 when it was first used because it sounded like the French word m'aider, which means “Help me." In those early days of radio it was necessary to repeat things sometimes because of interference on the frequency from various potential sources.



      The "rule of three" is rooted in research conducted in 1890 by Herman Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist. Ebbinghuas studied how many rehearsals were necessary for his test subjects to memorize a list of nonsense syllables. He came up with three as the optimal number, and that became a rule of thumb in many other things, such as advertising.



      Here's a cool video that adds addition info on Mayday and Pan Pan.





      share










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      • I have edited Clint's answer to provide the other information that makes it a more complete answer.

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      7












      7








      7







      Procedure calls for the mayday distress signal to be said three times in a row so that it won't be mistaken for another word or phrase that sounds similar under noisy conditions. The use of Mayday dates back to 1923 when it was first used because it sounded like the French word m'aider, which means “Help me." In those early days of radio it was necessary to repeat things sometimes because of interference on the frequency from various potential sources.



      The "rule of three" is rooted in research conducted in 1890 by Herman Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist. Ebbinghuas studied how many rehearsals were necessary for his test subjects to memorize a list of nonsense syllables. He came up with three as the optimal number, and that became a rule of thumb in many other things, such as advertising.



      Here's a cool video that adds addition info on Mayday and Pan Pan.





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      Procedure calls for the mayday distress signal to be said three times in a row so that it won't be mistaken for another word or phrase that sounds similar under noisy conditions. The use of Mayday dates back to 1923 when it was first used because it sounded like the French word m'aider, which means “Help me." In those early days of radio it was necessary to repeat things sometimes because of interference on the frequency from various potential sources.



      The "rule of three" is rooted in research conducted in 1890 by Herman Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist. Ebbinghuas studied how many rehearsals were necessary for his test subjects to memorize a list of nonsense syllables. He came up with three as the optimal number, and that became a rule of thumb in many other things, such as advertising.



      Here's a cool video that adds addition info on Mayday and Pan Pan.






      share










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      edited 4 hours ago









      Juan Jimenez

      2,817423




      2,817423






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      answered 6 hours ago









      Clint KearnsClint Kearns

      711




      711




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      • While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review

        – bogl
        5 hours ago











      • I have edited Clint's answer to provide the other information that makes it a more complete answer.

        – Juan Jimenez
        4 hours ago





















      • While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review

        – bogl
        5 hours ago











      • I have edited Clint's answer to provide the other information that makes it a more complete answer.

        – Juan Jimenez
        4 hours ago



















      While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review

      – bogl
      5 hours ago





      While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review

      – bogl
      5 hours ago













      I have edited Clint's answer to provide the other information that makes it a more complete answer.

      – Juan Jimenez
      4 hours ago







      I have edited Clint's answer to provide the other information that makes it a more complete answer.

      – Juan Jimenez
      4 hours ago













      5














      There are no instances in normal conversation where the same word is repeated three times consecutively. In order to prevent a critical command or order from being issued or heard accidentally, a command is given three times in order to verify that it is being given intentionally.



      Going to the moon? “Launch! Launch! Launch!”






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      • 2





        This doesn't seem at all sensible, since any given phrase could be only heard once by the receiver if e.g. the first copy was snapped by a button delay and the second lost in static. The answer by Scotty provides the much more sensible historic basis: three times for redundancy.

        – Nij
        yesterday
















      5














      There are no instances in normal conversation where the same word is repeated three times consecutively. In order to prevent a critical command or order from being issued or heard accidentally, a command is given three times in order to verify that it is being given intentionally.



      Going to the moon? “Launch! Launch! Launch!”






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      • 2





        This doesn't seem at all sensible, since any given phrase could be only heard once by the receiver if e.g. the first copy was snapped by a button delay and the second lost in static. The answer by Scotty provides the much more sensible historic basis: three times for redundancy.

        – Nij
        yesterday














      5












      5








      5







      There are no instances in normal conversation where the same word is repeated three times consecutively. In order to prevent a critical command or order from being issued or heard accidentally, a command is given three times in order to verify that it is being given intentionally.



      Going to the moon? “Launch! Launch! Launch!”






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      There are no instances in normal conversation where the same word is repeated three times consecutively. In order to prevent a critical command or order from being issued or heard accidentally, a command is given three times in order to verify that it is being given intentionally.



      Going to the moon? “Launch! Launch! Launch!”







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      answered yesterday









      Paul WillettPaul Willett

      591




      591




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      • 2





        This doesn't seem at all sensible, since any given phrase could be only heard once by the receiver if e.g. the first copy was snapped by a button delay and the second lost in static. The answer by Scotty provides the much more sensible historic basis: three times for redundancy.

        – Nij
        yesterday














      • 2





        This doesn't seem at all sensible, since any given phrase could be only heard once by the receiver if e.g. the first copy was snapped by a button delay and the second lost in static. The answer by Scotty provides the much more sensible historic basis: three times for redundancy.

        – Nij
        yesterday








      2




      2





      This doesn't seem at all sensible, since any given phrase could be only heard once by the receiver if e.g. the first copy was snapped by a button delay and the second lost in static. The answer by Scotty provides the much more sensible historic basis: three times for redundancy.

      – Nij
      yesterday





      This doesn't seem at all sensible, since any given phrase could be only heard once by the receiver if e.g. the first copy was snapped by a button delay and the second lost in static. The answer by Scotty provides the much more sensible historic basis: three times for redundancy.

      – Nij
      yesterday











      1














      the reason for the repetition of mayday mayday mayday is for receiver of the messages can hear the callings, if the first mayday calling is breaking, the second mayday calling maybe be heard, and totally sure the third mayday the messages needs to be convey along with the mayday






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      • 4





        This answer could be greatly improved by beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending it with a period. I can't tell where the sentences here begin and end.

        – Tanner Swett
        13 hours ago
















      1














      the reason for the repetition of mayday mayday mayday is for receiver of the messages can hear the callings, if the first mayday calling is breaking, the second mayday calling maybe be heard, and totally sure the third mayday the messages needs to be convey along with the mayday






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      • 4





        This answer could be greatly improved by beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending it with a period. I can't tell where the sentences here begin and end.

        – Tanner Swett
        13 hours ago














      1












      1








      1







      the reason for the repetition of mayday mayday mayday is for receiver of the messages can hear the callings, if the first mayday calling is breaking, the second mayday calling maybe be heard, and totally sure the third mayday the messages needs to be convey along with the mayday






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      the reason for the repetition of mayday mayday mayday is for receiver of the messages can hear the callings, if the first mayday calling is breaking, the second mayday calling maybe be heard, and totally sure the third mayday the messages needs to be convey along with the mayday







      share|improve this answer








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      answered yesterday









      ian daniellsian daniells

      112




      112




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      • 4





        This answer could be greatly improved by beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending it with a period. I can't tell where the sentences here begin and end.

        – Tanner Swett
        13 hours ago














      • 4





        This answer could be greatly improved by beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending it with a period. I can't tell where the sentences here begin and end.

        – Tanner Swett
        13 hours ago








      4




      4





      This answer could be greatly improved by beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending it with a period. I can't tell where the sentences here begin and end.

      – Tanner Swett
      13 hours ago





      This answer could be greatly improved by beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending it with a period. I can't tell where the sentences here begin and end.

      – Tanner Swett
      13 hours ago











      1














      I assume it's for redundancy. Assuming the voice signal is very noisy, the listener might hear two different things, the first and second time. The third repetition can then be used to decide which of the two versions heard is more likely to be the correct one.



      Majority voting with three signals is very common in redundant systems. In computing it is called TMR (triple modular redundancy).
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_modular_redundancy






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        1














        I assume it's for redundancy. Assuming the voice signal is very noisy, the listener might hear two different things, the first and second time. The third repetition can then be used to decide which of the two versions heard is more likely to be the correct one.



        Majority voting with three signals is very common in redundant systems. In computing it is called TMR (triple modular redundancy).
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_modular_redundancy






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          1












          1








          1







          I assume it's for redundancy. Assuming the voice signal is very noisy, the listener might hear two different things, the first and second time. The third repetition can then be used to decide which of the two versions heard is more likely to be the correct one.



          Majority voting with three signals is very common in redundant systems. In computing it is called TMR (triple modular redundancy).
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_modular_redundancy






          share|improve this answer








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          I assume it's for redundancy. Assuming the voice signal is very noisy, the listener might hear two different things, the first and second time. The third repetition can then be used to decide which of the two versions heard is more likely to be the correct one.



          Majority voting with three signals is very common in redundant systems. In computing it is called TMR (triple modular redundancy).
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_modular_redundancy







          share|improve this answer








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          answered 18 hours ago









          user1323995user1323995

          1191




          1191




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              0














              Because human brains are slow and easily distracted?



              The first time you heard it - you started listening.



              The second time you heard it - you started listening properly, because you know it's important



              The third time confirmed you heard what you thought you heard?





              This is just my unresearched perception of what's going on, and why we naturally settled on saying thing 3 times when it's imperative that it's heard properly.






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                0














                Because human brains are slow and easily distracted?



                The first time you heard it - you started listening.



                The second time you heard it - you started listening properly, because you know it's important



                The third time confirmed you heard what you thought you heard?





                This is just my unresearched perception of what's going on, and why we naturally settled on saying thing 3 times when it's imperative that it's heard properly.






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                  0












                  0








                  0







                  Because human brains are slow and easily distracted?



                  The first time you heard it - you started listening.



                  The second time you heard it - you started listening properly, because you know it's important



                  The third time confirmed you heard what you thought you heard?





                  This is just my unresearched perception of what's going on, and why we naturally settled on saying thing 3 times when it's imperative that it's heard properly.






                  share|improve this answer








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                  Because human brains are slow and easily distracted?



                  The first time you heard it - you started listening.



                  The second time you heard it - you started listening properly, because you know it's important



                  The third time confirmed you heard what you thought you heard?





                  This is just my unresearched perception of what's going on, and why we naturally settled on saying thing 3 times when it's imperative that it's heard properly.







                  share|improve this answer








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                  answered 4 hours ago









                  djsmiley2kdjsmiley2k

                  1013




                  1013




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                      -3














                      SOS - Although not repeated three times, it is written in three words.






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                      • 1





                        SOS isn't used on radiotelephony. Should “mayday” be preferred over “SOS” in an emergency? Also, even on telegraphy, SOS is sent as a prosign, not as three distinct letters. It's ...---..., not ... --- .... Writing it as SOS is simply a mnenomic; any other set of letters that comes out to the same sound (for example, VGI) could be used instead.

                        – a CVn
                        4 hours ago


















                      -3














                      SOS - Although not repeated three times, it is written in three words.






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                      • 1





                        SOS isn't used on radiotelephony. Should “mayday” be preferred over “SOS” in an emergency? Also, even on telegraphy, SOS is sent as a prosign, not as three distinct letters. It's ...---..., not ... --- .... Writing it as SOS is simply a mnenomic; any other set of letters that comes out to the same sound (for example, VGI) could be used instead.

                        – a CVn
                        4 hours ago
















                      -3












                      -3








                      -3







                      SOS - Although not repeated three times, it is written in three words.






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                      SOS - Although not repeated three times, it is written in three words.







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                      answered 4 hours ago









                      mehmeh

                      1




                      1




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                      • 1





                        SOS isn't used on radiotelephony. Should “mayday” be preferred over “SOS” in an emergency? Also, even on telegraphy, SOS is sent as a prosign, not as three distinct letters. It's ...---..., not ... --- .... Writing it as SOS is simply a mnenomic; any other set of letters that comes out to the same sound (for example, VGI) could be used instead.

                        – a CVn
                        4 hours ago
















                      • 1





                        SOS isn't used on radiotelephony. Should “mayday” be preferred over “SOS” in an emergency? Also, even on telegraphy, SOS is sent as a prosign, not as three distinct letters. It's ...---..., not ... --- .... Writing it as SOS is simply a mnenomic; any other set of letters that comes out to the same sound (for example, VGI) could be used instead.

                        – a CVn
                        4 hours ago










                      1




                      1





                      SOS isn't used on radiotelephony. Should “mayday” be preferred over “SOS” in an emergency? Also, even on telegraphy, SOS is sent as a prosign, not as three distinct letters. It's ...---..., not ... --- .... Writing it as SOS is simply a mnenomic; any other set of letters that comes out to the same sound (for example, VGI) could be used instead.

                      – a CVn
                      4 hours ago







                      SOS isn't used on radiotelephony. Should “mayday” be preferred over “SOS” in an emergency? Also, even on telegraphy, SOS is sent as a prosign, not as three distinct letters. It's ...---..., not ... --- .... Writing it as SOS is simply a mnenomic; any other set of letters that comes out to the same sound (for example, VGI) could be used instead.

                      – a CVn
                      4 hours ago







                      protected by Community 4 hours ago



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