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I'd agree with WT Sharpe that "Call me Ishmael." is the most recognized first 3 word line in any book and one of the most recognized opening sentences ever. Even if we included books where most people only know the start of the sentence I'd still have to think that "Call me Ishmael" from Moby Dick is in the top three.
The other two being --
In the beginning...
and
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Honorable mention should go to --
Once upon a time...
and
It was a dark and stormy night...
The most recognized two word opening sentence--
Who's there? <-- Shakespeare's Hamlet
Dickens' entire first line from A Tale of Two Cities --
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
119 words in a single sentence -- ARGGGHHHH!!!
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