[Scene: A narrow staircase in a shared flat in Manchester. Emma is halfway up carrying a mug of tea. James starts walking down, holding a pile of laundry.]
Emma: (gasps) Oh no, no, no, James! Stop right there. Don’t you dare pass me on the stairs!
James: (pauses, confused) What? I’m just going down to put my clothes in the washer.
Emma: Well, you’ll have to wait. It’s unlucky to pass someone on the stairs. Everyone knows that.
James: (laughs) Unlucky? What’s going to happen — the washing machine’s going to explode?
Emma: Don’t mock it! My gran swore by this. She always said passing on the stairs brings arguments, bad luck, or even illness. She never crossed anyone on the steps — not even the postman.
James: (grinning) So, she made the poor postman climb all the way up just to turn around again?
Emma: I’m serious! The stairs are supposed to be a meeting of two directions — up and down — and crossing paths there confuses fate. It’s like… tempting destiny to trip you up.
James: (rolling eyes) That’s just physics, Emma. If you both try to squeeze past in a narrow space, someone’s bound to trip — not because of fate, but because of geometry.
Emma: (defensive) You always have a scientific explanation for everything. But explain this: last week, I passed Lucy on the stairs at work, and the very next day she spilled coffee all over her laptop. Coincidence?
James: Absolutely. Statistically speaking, things like that happen all the time. If you believe it’s bad luck, your brain just notices the mishaps more. It’s called confirmation bias.
Emma: (folds arms) You sound like one of those BBC documentaries — “The Science Behind Superstition.”
James: (mock announcer voice) Tonight at nine: We investigate how stairs cause more drama than soap operas.
Emma: (laughs despite herself) Alright, that was funny. But still, these old sayings exist for a reason. People wouldn’t keep them alive for centuries if there wasn’t something to them.
James: True, but most of them started from practical concerns. Like — “don’t pass on the stairs” probably began because old staircases were narrow and dangerous. People used superstition as an easy rule to keep everyone safe.
Emma: Huh. So you’re saying it’s more about avoiding collisions than cursing my week?
James: Exactly. The Victorians didn’t have health and safety posters, so they used fear of bad luck instead. “Break a mirror and you’ll have seven years of bad luck” probably just meant, “Don’t waste money replacing glass.”
Emma: (thinking) You might be right… but I still don’t want to risk it. You go back up.
James: (sighs) Fine. I’ll wait here with my laundry, trapped between logic and legend.
Emma: (teasing) See? Even you won’t test it.
James: No — I just don’t want to spend the rest of the day listening to you say, “I told you so,” if I stub my toe.
Emma: (grinning) Wise choice, Mr. Rational.
James: (smiling) Alright, you go up, I’ll go down. But next time, I’m installing a superstition-free lift.
Emma: (heading up) You’d better bless it with a four-leaf clover first.
James: (calling after her) Only if it passes a peer-reviewed study!
[End Scene]
Science Vs Superstition 
Tell Us What You Think