If you have three, you have three. If you have two, you have two. If you have one, you have none. What is it?
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42$\begingroup$ Lays Potato chips: you can't have just one. $\endgroup$– TTTCommented May 12, 2016 at 20:43
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13$\begingroup$ Backups! One is none! $\endgroup$– jpaughCommented May 12, 2016 at 21:50
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4$\begingroup$ Well? Is there an answer? $\endgroup$– Peregrine RookCommented May 16, 2016 at 5:48
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$\begingroup$ @PeregrineRook There are now 14. What more do you want? :-) $\endgroup$– GOTO 0Commented May 17, 2016 at 8:12
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1$\begingroup$ Only one answer really fits though... $\endgroup$– ffaoCommented May 17, 2016 at 23:47
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12 Answers
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This is kind of a play on words, but:
Options
If you have 3 options, you have 3 options. If you have 2 options you have 2 options. If you have only 1 option, you don't have any options.
Along similar lines, this works too:
Choices
If you have 3 choices, you have 3 choices. If you have 2 choices you have 2 choices. If you have only 1 choice, you don't have a choice.
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If you say the riddle aloud, the answer could be:
Competitors
Because:
"one" sounds like "won". If you have 2 or 3 competitors, then you have 2 or 3 competitors. But if you have "won", then you have none.
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3
What about
Stack Exchange Reputation Score?
If you have three, you have three.
If you have two, you have two,
but if you have one, you have none.
as it is the default rep score here. If you have 1 rep score you really have none.
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$\begingroup$ well i got 100 just for joining, but hey, that's SE :) $\endgroup$– Andrei CCommented May 13, 2016 at 7:41
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$\begingroup$ Cause you've been in the network for a while ;) $\endgroup$ Commented May 13, 2016 at 8:35
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$\begingroup$ But we all know that, in general, if you have $n$, then you really have only $n-1$. $\endgroup$ Commented May 13, 2016 at 19:23
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It may be
the number of consecutive consonants at the beginning of the word for the numeral.
THREE ↑↑↑ = 3 (three) TWO ↑↑ = 2 (two) ONE - = 0 (zero, i.e., none)
And so it turns out that, if you have none (or zero), you have one — which somehow seems appropriate.
answered May 13, 2016 at 7:07
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It probably isn't, but could be:
Neighboring cells in Conway's Game of Life
Because
A cell with two or three live neighbors will be alive in the next iteration, while a cell with only one live neighbor will die.
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It is a
repetition
In fact those are
Three repetitions, repetitions, repetitions.
Two repetitions, repetitions.
No repetition.
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1
Perhaps
A Guinea Pig. Several Guinea Pigs will thrive, whereas a single guinea pig will become lonely, and soon die.
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2$\begingroup$ That's why you take your guinea pig to a stud farm. $\endgroup$– pasteCommented May 12, 2016 at 20:39
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Is it a
Because
If you have triplets, you have three multiples. If you have twins, you have two multiples. But if you have a single child, you have no multiples.
Original answer, not correct by the precise definition (thanks @Will):
clones
Because
If you have three organisms with the same DNA, you have three clones. But if you have one organism it is not a clone.
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2$\begingroup$ This is pedantic in the first place, but I'd argue if you have three you'd only have two. $\endgroup$– WillCommented May 12, 2016 at 20:48
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$\begingroup$ Doesn't that mean you can't have one, then? $\endgroup$– pasteCommented May 12, 2016 at 21:07
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$\begingroup$ @paste: Depends how you interpret the riddle. If you interpret it as
if you have X [babies], you have Y [multiples]then it's consistent. $\endgroup$ Commented May 12, 2016 at 21:09 -
$\begingroup$ @MarkPeters Then the question would be "What are they?" $\endgroup$– pasteCommented May 12, 2016 at 21:10
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2$\begingroup$ @MarkPeters In TTT's case, his/her answer conforms to the format "If you have three X, you have three X" whereas yours is "If you have three X, you have three Y". $\endgroup$– pasteCommented May 12, 2016 at 21:37
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It is a...
Collection of things
Because...
If you have three, you have three things, if you have two, you have two things, but if you have just one, you just own a thing, and it's not really a collection at all.
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It may be about physical sharing, and telling other people what you have.
If you have more than one unit of something you can inform your surroundings on this and share it with them.
On the other hand: if you have only one, telling others might induce envy and you may be better off not mentioning it.
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Thinking visually, it could be
corners in the numerals 1, 2, 3 when drawn by hand. 3 has the upper right, middle left, and lower right; 2 has upper right and lower left; but 1 is usually a straight line.
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The solution is
Cigarettes.
Reason
You don't offer the last one.
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1$\begingroup$ The only sense that I can make of this is that it's backwards: if you have three, then you have two, and if you have two, then you have one, but if you have one, then you still / truly / absolutely / definitely have one. $\endgroup$ Commented May 14, 2016 at 21:57
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2$\begingroup$ I don't know what you mean. I explain myself better: If someone ask you for a cigarette i tipically offer one unless there's only one remaining. In that case i keep it for myself. $\endgroup$ Commented May 16, 2016 at 7:13