# You only get three wishes, and you cant wish for more...Did I find a loop hole? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 7, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092 "2003-10-07T16:45:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/1 "2003-10-07T16:45:11Z")
\*\* You only get three wishes, and you cant wish for more… Did I find a loop hole? \*\* So, here I am wandering around some deserted location, (Lord knows why, I just am.), rich in history but with no one around. I find some sort of shiny container sticking out of the ground and dig it out. Thinking that with a bit of restoration I could fetch a tidy bit of beer money with this thing if I put it up on E-bay. :::Polish:::Polish:::Polish… POOF! Out pops this Genie, (It’s a girl genie), she throws her arms around me and says “_MAaaaaastr_, (Okay, enough, it’s not that kind of story). You get 3 wishes for letting me out of there, but you cant ask for more wishes.” After using my first 2 (perhaps with her, who knows), I only have one wish left. Couldn’t I just wish something like “For my last wish, I wish I had all the powers of “Q”, (from Star Trek TNG – allowing me to wish for anything I ever want - forever), or couldn’t I wish that whatever I thought was a good thing would instantly happen – with some prefacing thoughts like “I think it would be a good thing IF”. See the word –wish- doesn’t come into play. Or, I could wish that whenever I wanted something, a person would appear with the thing that I wanted – say I wanted to invest a million dollars in my checking account, a little accountant with a suitcase full of money would appear, “Here ya’ go Janx, will that be all?” he would say. You get the Idea. Are multi faceted wishes legal, and If so how would you use/abuse yours? This should be fun, if any one wants to tell how they came upon the container, and how they blew their first 2 wishes, that would be a kick to read as well. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/2 "2003-10-07T16:55:59Z")
Way to get turned into a female genie, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/3 "2003-10-07T17:06:30Z")
I like the sig line. * * * Delta-32 Skee-doo! ---
**Author:** ![quothz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/da6949/32.png) [@quothz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quothz)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/4 "2003-10-07T17:10:59Z")
#rub Rub what? l - a blessed magic lamp (weapon in hand) -\- a - a 1920’s-style Death Ray (alternate weapon; not wielded) -\- In a puff of smoke, a genie appears! -\- “Thank you for releasing me. I will grant you a wish!” -\- You may wish for an object. -\- What would you like to wish for? All the powers of Q The genie laughs and nods her head! -\- You feel fictional. -\- You cease to exist. -\- You die… -\- Do you want your possessions identified? ---
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/5 "2003-10-07T17:13:08Z")
b] TPWombat \*\* wrote… > [@](#): > > Way to get turned into a female genie, dude. Way to hijack the thread dude, now would you explain just how in the heck I managed to do that?!? Does present some interesting possibilities tho’. Oh BTW, what would \*\* you \*\* use your last wish on? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/6 "2003-10-07T17:21:35Z")
_ **PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER!!!** _ [sub]Itty-bitty living space.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/7 "2003-10-07T17:25:10Z")
\*\* quothz \*\* wrote… > [@](#): > > You feel fictional. -\- > You cease to exist. -\- > You die… -\- > Do you want your possessions identified? Jeez. How rational. I didn’t even think of that. So the answer is NO, there is no loop hole. Hmmmm, how ‘bout if I said, I wish for all the powers of the \* fictional character \* “Q” but, _in real life_, would that work? (every where you look there’s another lawyer these days.) ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Dracul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/50afbb/32.png) [@Vlad\_Dracul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Dracul)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/8 "2003-10-07T17:51:24Z")
“I wish for a magical talisman that will grant any and all wishes I may have from now on, and which will be instantly and harmlessly implanted inside my body in a location and manner (and operate in such a manner), such that it will perform its function without causing me any medical or functional difficulty, or discomfort, of any sort.” (In case you’re wondering, I want it implanted so it can’t be lost or stolen.) ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/9 "2003-10-07T18:00:23Z")
“For my first wish, I wish that the limitation on ‘wishing for more wishes’ were removed.” “For my second wish, I wish for unlimited wishes.” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/10 "2003-10-07T18:02:19Z")
Sure, Vlad, but what if it’s implanted safely and harmlessly in your spine and you have to rub it to make it work? TECHNICALLY, its operation will not cause you harm, but it will be nevertheless inaccessible to you. You might want to tinker with the wish a little bit, dude. Me, I’m wishing for a hat like Presto had on the old D&D cartoon. Hell, even if I don’t always get what I want, the results will be damn entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/11 "2003-10-07T18:21:17Z")
My first wish would be for magical powers to be bestowed upon me forever (ones that will NOT backfire in any cheesy 60’s televsion show way!) These powers would include making anything I wanted to appear… appear, anything I wanted done… done, anything I needed… instantly available without the need to speak the word “wish”. My second wish would be for appropriate and TIMELY justice to commence upon any person commiting serious and harmful crimes, eliminating the need for a judicial system and the 50-50 chance for said offender to get off scott free or even allowing said evil person to hide. My third wish would be for the complete and total disappearance of crippling, disfiguring and terminal diseases, mental illnesses, and such so that human beings could concentrate on achieving other worldly goals such as space exploration/travel, cessation of famine, and world peace (to name a few). OK, _so_ I want the impossible! And I sound like some kiss-ass but hey, I’m a nice person sometimes! The first wish could actually accomplish the other two but I don’t want to seem greedy and use all my wishes for me and me alone. I just really want the first one anyway, I’d do some vigilante type stuff with my powers… \*\* OH, YES I WOULD!\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/12 "2003-10-07T18:27:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quothz \* > \*\*#rub > Rub what? > l - a blessed magic lamp (weapon in hand) -\- > a - a 1920’s-style Death Ray (alternate weapon; not wielded) -\- > In a puff of smoke, a genie appears! -\- > “Thank you for releasing me. I will grant you a wish!” -\- > You may wish for an object. -\- > What would you like to wish for? > All the powers of Q > The genie laughs and nods her head! -\- > You feel fictional. -\- > You cease to exist. -\- > You die… -\- > Do you want your possessions identified? \*\* YASD: quothz-Tou-Oth-Hum-Neu, died in the Dungeons of Doom on level 21. Died by becoming nonexistent. Why are you wielding a magic lamp anyway? Did your rubber chicken rot away? And I would’ve expected that you would’ve found out the b/u/c status of the Death Ray. (I have yet to go on the Quest; in my current game I’ve defeated Medusa, but haven’t gone below her level yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/13 "2003-10-07T18:59:39Z")
Um, wish there was no rule about wishing for more wishes? ---
**Author:** ![Kerensky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@Kerensky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kerensky)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/14 "2003-10-07T19:09:43Z")
Wish for a real life Deck Of Many Things 😉 Failing that, just wish for Omnipotence. ---
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/15 "2003-10-07T20:32:27Z")
WISH #1: Eternal Youth WISH #2: Invincibility from all forms of unwanted destruction WISH #3: Infinite mental recall ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/16 "2003-10-07T21:08:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vlad Dracul \* > \*\*"I wish for a magical talisman that will grant any and all wishes I may have from now on, \*\* You had better wish that the device include a little Microsoft-style dialog box that says “Are you sure you wish X?”. Because otherwise, you get into the usual monkey’s paw type nightmare of: “I wish you were dead.” “Oops, I wish you weren’t dead!” “Gosh, I wish you weren’t a zombie nibbling on my frontal lobe!” My first wish would probably be to wish that I had the wisdom to make the next two wishes correctly. ---
**Author:** ![quothz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/da6949/32.png) [@quothz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quothz)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/17 "2003-10-07T22:31:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Janx \* > > Hmmmm, how ‘bout if I said, I wish for all the powers of the \* fictional character \* “Q” but, _in real life_, would that work? > \*\* I expect you’d overflow the stack and the dungeon would collapse, ending your game. 😃 But seriously ;), even if your DM allowed it you’d probably be retired as an NPC and have to roll up a new character. So what’s the point? **Scuba Ben** , you automatically wield it when #rubbing it, you B/U/C-ID cursed items when (w)ielding 'em, but not uncursed or blessed. And keep trying - it took me years to ascend the first time, now I’ve done B,P,T,V,W, [S]R,U. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/18 "2003-10-07T22:36:43Z")
I wish I knew what the hell is going on. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/19 "2003-10-07T22:39:34Z")
As a general rule (in both literature and D&D), all selfish wishes are turned against the person making the request. For example: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by criminalcatalog \* > \*\*WISH #1: Eternal Youth > WISH #2: Invincibility from all forms of unwanted destruction > WISH #3: Infinite mental recall \*\* _poof_ You just got turned into an invulnerable steel statue of a baby, forced to relive your entire life again and again for eternity. Sucks to be you. Wishing to be turned into a Q could bind you to the Q continuum who are, by the way, pissed off that some interloper has suddenly showed up waving powers around. You lose your powers as quickly as you got them. Sucks to be you. Etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Capcha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Capcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capcha)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092/20 "2003-10-07T22:51:06Z")
Wish for something general, but you have to get down through the detailes. Example: “I wish to be changed.” So here you can go to sub-categories: 1)Health: - Perfect eagle vision day and night. - No more sickness/allergies. -{insert rest} 2)Physical: - Perfect sturdy skin. - Stronger and more lucious hair. - Get rid of unwanted hair forever! - Be perfectly fine in whatever weather: Can be naked in subzero temperatures… - Never be tired. - Never need to eat/drink (but can if wanted to) -{insert rest} 3)Mental: -{insert whatever} To name a few. Would that work? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-three-wishes-and-you-cant-wish-for-more-did-i-find-a-loop-hole/206092.md?page=2)