Since its creation in 2016 TikTok has taken the world by storm and reshaped our day to day life. Gone is the age of Vines and Tumblr as it’s replaced by the newest TikTok trends and dances. Whether that be the original Renegade dance or more modern things like blind ranking popular TV characters.
Each week a new trend comes and goes as different people participate in it. The trends themselves have no rhyme or reason; it’s just whatever the “algorithm” decides to promote. The most recent trend being to ask guys, “How often do you think of the Roman Empire?”
The trend seemed to pop up out of nowhere when girls began asking their guy friends and boyfriends how often they thought of the Roman Empire. And the answer, which may surprise you, was quite often.
The abnormality of this is what really caused it to skyrocket and soon everyone was participating, even celebrities.
According to an article in Forbes, Australian singer Firerose asked her fiance, Billy Ray Cyrus, how many times a day he thinks about the Roman Empire. “15 to 20, max,” Cyrus said, specifying he thinks about gladiators.
But why is this topic so popular amongst men? Why is everyone thinking about it?
Recent graduate Spencer Apollo stated his reason was the architecture. Roman Architecture is well known for their towering stone columns and huge arches seen in buildings like the Colosseum and the Pantheon. “The architecture is so amazing,” he said. “Please just go look at it.”
For others, their reason has more to do with family traditions. “I watch ‘The Chosen’ every Sunday with my family and it has Romans in it.” senior Tristan Kelder said. ‘The Chosen’ is a popular historical drama found on BYUTV.
As the days go on, the trend has started to make its way out of the public eye as it’s replaced by newer and cooler trends, but it will always be remembered as the trend that opened our eyes to the Roman empire and its iconic history.
