Setting: A cozy apartment in Berlin. Rain taps lightly against the window. Two friends, Maya and Jonas, are having coffee on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Maya: (gasps)
Oh no! Jonas, you just broke a glass!
Jonas: (grabbing a towel)
Yeah, I saw that. My clumsy hands strike again. But hey, better a glass than my phone, right?
Maya:
No, no, no! That’s a bad omen, Jonas. You broke it accidentally. You know what that means, right?
Jonas: (smirking)
That I need to buy a new glass from IKEA?
Maya:
Jonas, I’m serious! Breaking glass unintentionally attracts bad luck. But if you had done it during a celebration—like a wedding or New Year’s—then it would be fine. It wards off evil spirits.
Jonas:
Maya, I love you, but you sound like my grandma right now. Do you really think spirits are lurking around, waiting to pounce unless we shatter some cutlery?
Maya:
It’s not just a superstition—it’s tradition! In Jewish weddings, they stomp on a glass to symbolize breaking with the past, and in some Balkan cultures, they throw glasses to scare away evil. There’s centuries of belief behind it!
Jonas:
Sure, and back then they also believed bathing too often made you sick. Just because something’s old doesn’t mean it’s true.
Maya: (crossing her arms)
So you’re saying all traditions are nonsense?
Jonas:
Not at all. Traditions have value—community, identity, storytelling. But believing that an accidental glass-breaking determines the future? That’s not cause and effect, Maya, that’s… Netflix horror movie logic.
Maya:
Easy for you to say! Remember last year? I dropped a plate before my job interview and I didn’t get the job. Coincidence? I think not.
Jonas: (grinning)
Okay, and I once spilled coffee on myself right before a presentation—and aced it. Maybe coffee stains are good luck?
Maya: (laughs)
Maybe you just like bending the narrative.
Jonas:
I think our brains are too good at finding patterns. It’s called apophenia. We connect unrelated events to make sense of randomness. Like, I could say that every time I wear my green socks, Germany wins a football match. But really, it’s just… green socks.
Maya:
But isn’t there some comfort in believing? Like… even if it’s not scientifically proven, it gives you a sense of control. Especially when everything feels chaotic.
Jonas:
That’s totally fair. Beliefs can be comforting. But I’d rather face the chaos knowing it’s chaotic, not because I dropped a glass. Otherwise, I’m just blaming inanimate objects for my bad day.
Maya:
Still… I’m putting some salt on your broken glass. Just to be safe.
Jonas:
Salt? Why?
Maya:
To absorb the negative energy. Duh.
Jonas: (mock-serious)
And here I thought salt was for popcorn.
Maya: (smiling)
Don’t knock it till you try it. You science folks always need a peer-reviewed journal before you trust anything.
Jonas:
That’s because peer review has fewer demons and more data.
Maya: (chuckles)
Fine. But if a black cat crosses your path tomorrow and you trip over a shoelace, don’t come crying to me.
Jonas:
Deal. But if I win the lottery because I didn’t throw salt on the glass, I’m buying you a scientifically haunted toaster.
Maya:
As long as it doesn’t break glass, I’m in.
[They clink their coffee mugs, one eyeing the shelf nervously, the other smiling at the absurdity of it all.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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