Setting: A sunny Saturday morning in Berlin. Two friends, Lena (the superstitious one) and Jonas (the rational thinker), are walking through the weekly market near Boxhagener Platz, holding coffees and chatting.
Lena: (grinning excitedly)
You won’t believe what happened this morning!
Jonas:
I’m all ears. Did your neighbor’s cat finally stop yodeling at 3 a.m.?
Lena:
No! Even better. I bumped into a chimney sweep! Full black uniform, top hat, smudged face and everything!
Jonas: (raising an eyebrow)
And that’s… exciting because?
Lena:
I shook his hand! That means I’m going to have good luck all week! Maybe even win something! A lottery ticket, a free coffee, maybe find a twenty on the sidewalk—who knows?
Jonas: (smirking)
Lena, you do realize that’s just an old superstition, right? There’s no scientific evidence that chimney sweeps bring luck. They’re just people with sooty jobs.
Lena: (mock gasp)
Jonas! How dare you insult the guardians of fortune! It’s a German tradition! My Oma used to say, “Wenn du einen Schornsteinfeger siehst, gib ihm die Hand – das bringt Glück!”
Jonas:
Yes, yes. And didn’t your Oma also believe that spilling salt meant you had to throw it over your shoulder to ward off the devil?
Lena: (dead serious)
Obviously. You never know who’s lurking.
Jonas: (chuckling)
Come on, Lena. The whole chimney sweep thing comes from medieval times. Back then, if your chimney was clean, your house didn’t catch fire. So yeah, the sweep showing up was literally saving your home — hence the “good luck.” But today? It’s just soot and social myths.
Lena:
Fine, Mr. Logic. But just last year, I shook a sweep’s hand on New Year’s Day — guess what happened that week?
Jonas:
Please say “you got a promotion” or “you met a nice guy who didn’t ghost you.”
Lena:
I found a used couch on eBay Kleinanzeigen that exactly matched my living room aesthetic. For 50 euros. That is undeniably luck.
Jonas:
Or… coincidence? And maybe your obsessive scrolling helped?
Lena: (smiling smugly)
Coincidence is just the universe being lazy with its signs.
Jonas:
Look, I get it. Superstitions can be comforting. They add a little magic to the monotony. But if I said my good luck came from rubbing my laptop three times and chanting “Ctrl-Alt-Del,” you’d call me insane.
Lena: (grinning)
Not insane. Just a little too committed to tech support.
Jonas:
Seriously though — wouldn’t it be more empowering to believe you create your own luck? Through effort, timing, maybe even — dare I say it — planning?
Lena:
But that’s boring, Jonas! You can’t put “careful planning” on a charm bracelet. And anyway, even scientists knock on wood sometimes. You people aren’t immune to ritual.
Jonas: (reluctantly)
Okay, fair. I do avoid saying “It’s going to be an easy week” on Mondays. That’s just asking for chaos.
Lena: (triumphant)
Ha! You are one of us. Deep down. Just in denial.
Jonas: (laughing)
Maybe. But let’s make a deal — you keep shaking chimney sweep hands, and I’ll keep researching probability and psychology. And if you do win the lottery, I’ll happily write a paper titled “The Sooty Oracle Hypothesis.”
Lena:
Deal. And if I find a twenty today, you’re buying me dinner. And shaking the next sweep’s hand. With both hands.
Jonas:
You drive a hard bargain. But okay. If your luck shows up before the döner stand, I’m in.
(They both laugh and continue strolling, Lena scanning the crowd for more chimney sweeps, Jonas checking the sidewalk for loose change — just in case.)
Science Vs Superstition 
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