[Scene: A rainy afternoon in Manchester. Emma and Jack are in Emma’s flat. Jack walks in, shaking his umbrella, and casually opens it to dry inside the hallway.]
Emma: (gasping) Jack! What on earth are you doing? Shut that umbrella right now!
Jack: (puzzled) What? It’s dripping everywhere. I thought I’d let it dry out before it turns into a mould farm.
Emma: You can’t open an umbrella indoors. That’s asking for bad luck. Honestly, don’t you know the tradition?
Jack: (laughs) Oh, here we go. Emma, you’re not seriously telling me you believe in that?
Emma: Absolutely I do! My gran always warned me about it. Once, my cousin opened an umbrella inside her house, and a week later he broke his leg playing football.
Jack: (grinning) Emma, that’s called correlation, not causation. He broke his leg because he probably went in for a dodgy tackle, not because of an umbrella in the living room.
Emma: Easy for you to say. But these things have roots in history. It’s about respecting what’s passed down. Why tempt fate?
Jack: (playfully) Or maybe it started because opening a huge umbrella indoors back in the 18th century meant you’d knock over candlesticks, smash the china, or poke Aunt Mildred in the eye. That’s not bad luck—it’s just bad spatial awareness.
Emma: (laughing despite herself) Alright, Aunt Mildred wouldn’t have been pleased. But still, people wouldn’t keep repeating it if there wasn’t something to it.
Jack: People also used to believe tomatoes were poisonous. Doesn’t make it true. Imagine giving up pizza because of superstition.
Emma: (mock horror) Don’t you dare speak ill of pizza.
Jack: (smiling) Exactly my point. Superstitions stick around because they’re catchy, not because they’re factual. It’s like saying walking under a ladder is unlucky. No—it’s just dangerous because someone might drop a paint tin on your head.
Emma: (tilts head, considering) Hmm. But you’ve got to admit, there’s comfort in traditions. Even if they’re silly, they make life feel a bit more… ordered.
Jack: That I’ll give you. Humans love patterns, even when they’re imaginary. Like how football fans wear the same “lucky socks” for every match. It’s more about reassurance than reality.
Emma: Exactly! And I’d rather not test the umbrella one. What harm is there in playing safe?
Jack: Fair enough. Though for the record, if I suddenly win the lottery tomorrow, I’ll be opening umbrellas in every house I visit.
Emma: (laughing) If you win the lottery, Jack, I won’t care if you open a tent indoors.
Jack: Deal. But until then, I’m drying this umbrella in the garden. Happy now?
Emma: Very. You’ve just saved us both from a week of “mysterious accidents.”
Jack: Or… just a week of damp carpets.
[They both laugh, the umbrella now propped safely outside.]
Science Vs Superstition 
Tell Us What You Think