[Scene: Sunday morning in Melbourne. Liam and Maya are sitting on the porch with coffee. Liam is staring suspiciously at a nail clipper on the table.]
Maya:
What’s with the dramatic staring contest? You look like the nail clipper owes you money.
Liam:
laughs awkwardly It’s Sunday, Maya. I can’t cut my nails today. Bad luck, you know.
Maya:
Oh no—here we go again. Bad luck? From nail trimming? What’s going to happen, Liam? Will the fingernail fairy strike back?
Liam:
I’m serious! My nan used to say, “Cut your nails on a Sunday, you’ll bring sorrow for a week.” And honestly, once I ignored her, I had a flat tyre the next morning. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Maya:
laughs You had a flat tyre because you ran over a screw near the construction site, remember? That’s not cosmic punishment—it’s physics!
Liam:
Still, it’s odd how things line up. I’ve heard stories—like my cousin clipped his nails on a Sunday, and his dog got sick the next day.
Maya:
So now the dog’s in on it too? Poor thing. Liam, that’s just confirmation bias. You remember the one “bad” Sunday but not the fifty normal ones where nothing happened.
Liam:
Maybe. But these superstitions come from somewhere, right? People didn’t just make them up for fun.
Maya:
Actually, they kind of did—just for different reasons. Back in the day, Sundays were rest days. Cutting nails was considered “work” or “vain grooming,” so people said it brought bad luck to stop you from doing it. Same with sweeping the floor or washing clothes on Sundays.
Liam:
Hmm. So it’s like a social trick to make people relax?
Maya:
Exactly. A clever way to get folks to take a break without arguing. Imagine telling a stubborn farmer, “Don’t work on Sunday because it’s a day of rest”—they’d ignore you. But say, “If you work on Sunday, you’ll have bad luck”? Boom—instant compliance.
Liam:
laughs You make it sound like ancient psychological warfare.
Maya:
Pretty much! Humans have been using fear of bad luck to enforce rules for centuries.
Liam:
Still, I’d rather not risk it. What’s the harm in waiting till Monday?
Maya:
None, unless you scratch yourself on something because your nails are too long. Then it is bad luck—but only because you didn’t cut them!
Liam:
laughs, finally picking up the nail clipper Fine, fine. But if something unlucky happens today, I’m blaming you.
Maya:
Deal. But if nothing happens, you owe me a coffee next Sunday—while clipping your nails.
Liam:
You’re on. But if my kettle breaks, I’m calling my nan from the afterlife to tell you, “I told you so.”
Maya:
laughing Perfect. I’ll bring the ghost-proof coffee mugs.
[They both laugh, the sound of a nail clipper snipping breaks the tension as a magpie warbles nearby.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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