Plucking up the courage to strike a conversation with a stranger might feel tricky, considering it"s not normally the done thing for many of us. Behavioural scientists Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder at the University of Chicago asked commuters to talk to strangers on mass transit, in taxis, and in waiting rooms – places where the social norm in Chicago is against talking. Understandably, most participants predicted these interactions would go poorly. Wary of violating a social norm, they worried the stranger would resent the intrusion and reject them, and their commutes would be even more unpleasant than they already were.