[Scene: Rafaela’s cozy apartment in São Paulo. It’s late afternoon, and they’re sipping iced chimarrão after work.]
Rafa: [gasps] Lucas! Pelo amor de Deus, turn your flip-flops over. They’re upside down!
Lucas: [blinks] Huh? Oh, I didn’t even notice. Why does it matter?
Rafa: Are you serious? Don’t tell me you forgot—leaving flip-flops upside down means someone close to you could die! It’s basic Brazilian survival!
Lucas: [chuckles] Rafa, come on. You know I love you, but that makes zero sense. A pair of rubber flip-flops is not a magical death omen.
Rafa: It’s not magical, it’s traditional. My vó swore by it. Every time she saw a Havaiana upside down, she’d mutter a prayer and flip it over like it was a bomb. And guess what? No one in our house died unexpectedly!
Lucas: That’s not cause and effect, that’s just… life. Correlation isn’t causation. If I wear mismatched socks every day and don’t get hit by a meteor, that doesn’t mean my socks are protecting the planet.
Rafa: [laughs] Ok, I’ll admit the sock thing is funny. But still—some things you just don’t test. Like walking under ladders, or breaking mirrors, or whistling at night…
Lucas: Wait, what’s wrong with whistling at night?
Rafa: It invites spirits, Lucas! Evil ones! Haven’t you seen those stories from the Northeast? The whistler in the dark?
Lucas: I have also seen documentaries about how the human brain looks for patterns—even where there are none. It’s why people see faces in clouds. Or think ghosts live in their grandma’s pantry because the light flickers.
Rafa: That flickering could be something! Like your grandma trying to send you a message. “Stop eating her secret stash of biscuits,” maybe.
Lucas: [laughs] Fair. But seriously, Rafa, don’t you think these superstitions are just stories to explain things people didn’t understand in the past?
Rafa: Maybe. But they also give comfort. My mom used to say that turning the flip-flop was like protecting your family with a tiny act. It made her feel safe.
Lucas: I get that. We all have rituals. I tap my keys three times before leaving work—don’t ask why. But I know it’s just a habit. I don’t believe my house will catch fire if I forget.
Rafa: Yeah, but your habit doesn’t predict death! Flip-flops are more… intense.
Lucas: Look, how about this: let’s run an experiment. For the next week, I’ll leave my flip-flops upside down every day. You’ll check on me daily. If no one dies, we revisit this.
Rafa: [squints] Are you crazy? You’re tempting fate.
Lucas: No, I’m tempting logic. Come on, you’re friends with a biologist. You’ve seen me dissect frog DNA. Do I look like someone who dies from rubber shoe placement?
Rafa: [laughs hard] Okay, fine. But if anyone so much as sneezes suspiciously, I’m blaming you and your cursed sandals.
Lucas: Deal. And if no one dies, you owe me pão de queijo for a week.
Rafa: Deal. But I’m still flipping my flip-flops over. Not taking chances with my karma.
Lucas: As long as you don’t start tossing salt over your shoulder in my kitchen again…
Rafa: No promises, meu amigo. No promises.
[They clink their cups and laugh, each silently convinced they’ll be proven right—but still happy to share the argument over good company and cheesy bread.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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