xkcd #3232: Countdown Standard
Title text:
Anyone who is caught counting ‘three … two … one … zero … GO!’ will be punished with a lifetime of eating only ISO standard food samples.
Transcript:
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Source: https://xkcd.com/3232/
Saying “on the count of three” before you start counting is optimal, in timelines where that tradition is widely known. It’s more words the first time but many people need the time provided by saying them to mentally prepare, and then if you need repeated counts no such preparation is necessary and each one takes only three beats.
“On my go. 3, 2, 1, go.”
In my experience, when people say “on the count of three” there’s a 50% chance they either go “Three, two, one!” or “One, Two, Three, GO!” This drives me almost as crazy as witnessing how people drive.
Out of habit I’d still wait for “go”