Michael A. Day 10 - 17,394

Milo hauled the old ladder all over town. He leaned it against busy store fronts and watched shoppers walk under it and then trip and fall on their asses or shout as a stray shopping cart suddenly rammed into the side of their car. Again and again, it seemed like walking under the ladder actually ruined people's day.

But that wasn't possible, was it?

Always shrewd and methodical, Milo repeated the same experiments using his father's telescoping metal ladder in place of the rickety wooden one. Nothing happened.

It seemed to Milo that clearly, he had found a ladder that actually caused bad luck to those who walked under. He diversified his experiments, testing whether or not the ladder had to be leaning. He hung it over doorways, suspended it above walkways, wedged it in trees. He tied it to the top of a swing set so that every kid who came to swing was under the ladder. Kids fell out of swings and hurt themselves in a comic parade of sprained arms and twisted ankles and crying children. Bad luck.