how to make it so celebrities always die in threes (without actually killing them)

These THREE guys all died from cancer!

You should know that celebrities don't die in groups of three. I'm not sure how this idea started or how far back in time it goes, but it's just silly.

I'll try to demonstrate how people do this whole grouping thing when celebrities die. Let's start with Lemmy Kilmister of the band Motorhead...

"Bummer. Lemmy died. What a shame."

Days later.

"Oh! Wayne Rogers died. And Natalie Cole?! Hang on. With Lemmy that makes three! Holy smokes! Celebrities die in threes!"

Days later.

"Hmm. But Wayne Rogers wasn't a singer, so...Hold the phone! David Bowie died?! Look at that. Lemmy, Natalie, and David were all singers! Celebrities die in threes!"

Days later.

"This is terrible news. Alan Rickman died. He was only 69. So, was Bowie! And Lemmy had just turned 70! Celebrities die in threes!"

Days later.

"I see Glenn Fry died. Great Scott! He was a male rock singer and so were Bowie and Lemmy! Celebrities die in threes!"

That same day.

"Look at this! Dale Griffin, the drummer of the UK rock band Mott the Hoople, died! He was a British rocker! Bowie and Lemmy were British rockers! Celebrities die in threes!"

See how that works? This could go on all year long. Although, at some point, Lemmy would have to be dropped from the groupings, because just how long can you count the same dead celebrity? Lemmy's eligibility would have to expire eventually, right?

Famous folks don't die in groupings of any particular number. They just die when they die. Just like the rest of us. Somehow we've subconsciously picked three as the number to notice. Probably because it's easier to keep track of three dead celebrities. If we tried to remember four or five or six deaths it would get difficult. Besides, if you get to six, that's just two sets of three. And two doesn't make a pattern, so the number is three.

Except celebrities don't really die in threes. We just notice in threes.