Swedeish influencer Arthur Hulu, who is a Roman reenactor, told his followers, “Ladies, many of you do not realize how often men think about the Roman Empire. Ask your husband/boyfriend/father/brother – you will be surprised by their answers!”

Well, one month later, the trend has taken off and there are thousands of videos on social media that include the question. The #RomanEmpire hashtag has more than a billion views on TikTok.

The trend was even covered on The Today Show, where co-host Carson Dalyshared his own response.

“I do, every day,” Carson said. “First of all, the movie Gladiator is in every guy’s top five favorite movies. Joe Rogan’s podcast is wildly popular, and there’s this trend to have this modern understanding of ancient philosophies like stoicism, cold plunging is a big thing right now, keto. Looking for guidance and self-improvement and it all harkens back to Marcus Aurelius. This is the Roman Empire.”