# 3. Hi Opal!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 17, 2001, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660 "2001-05-17T00:15:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ellen97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ellen97)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/1 "2001-05-17T00:15:41Z")
I have been reading the board for awhile now, and only recently started posting. I thought that the reason for the 3. Hi Opal was because Opal disliked lists with only 2 items. I have noticed people putting this #3 in lists with more than three items. My general question is did the original joke morph into a new #3 in every list, or are all the new posters misunderstanding the joke?
Thanks,
Ellen
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/2 "2001-05-17T00:31:03Z")
[Why don’t you try one of the 37 threads with the word “Opal” in the subject line?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?query=hi+opal&forumchoice=-1&booleanand=yes&searchin=subject&searchdate=-1&searchuser=&exactname=yes&action=dosearch&getdaily=&pagenum=)
Repeat after me: our search engine is our best friend.
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### Author:  [@Yue\_Han](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yue_Han)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/3 "2001-05-17T00:36:10Z")
Er, Coldfire, this is actually a different question.\*\* Given the answer found in those 37 other threads, why do people use Hi Opal! in lists of \more\ than two items?\*\*
–John
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/4 "2001-05-17T00:37:54Z")
Don’t worry, the anwer’s in there somewhere.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/5 "2001-05-17T00:51:48Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Coldfire \*
> \*\*Don’t worry, the anwer’s in there somewhere. \*\*
And the answer is (since Coldy doesn’t seem to want to actually do the honors) that it’s a misunderstanding of the joke. “Hi Opal” is only appropriate as the final item in a list of 3, not number 3 in a list of more items.
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### Author:  [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/6 "2001-05-17T02:00:22Z")
So:
1: There are lots of threads on this subject.
2: The use of “Hi Opal!” in a list of more than three elements **is** a misunderstanding of the joke.
3: Hi Opal!
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### Author:  [@ellen97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ellen97)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/7 "2001-05-17T02:23:01Z")
I had thought that it was a misunderstanding of the joke, but I had been seeing it ALOT lately and I thought I had missed something.
Thanks for the answers.
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/8 "2001-05-17T04:05:53Z")
For the record:
The practice of acknowledging Opal as the third point in a list started way back when the original idea was still fresh in everyone’s (everyone on the AOL/SDMB, that is) mind and was a _deliberate_ joke, twisting Opal’s point.
Folks now _might_ be misunderstanding the point, but I would say that the joke has simply morphed to a new level.
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### Author:  [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-hi-opal/65660/9 "2001-05-17T21:00:50Z")
I myself do the “ **3.Hi Opal** ” thing outside of conventional usage simply to avoid being bankrupted by the outrageous copyright charges (sheesh!).
Seriously, I suspect it’s just a joke that’s morphed beyond it’s original perimeters.