I noticed something weird about how people write about the Roman Empire surviving

A few months back I saw a post suggesting the Roman Empire avoided collapse by inventing the steam engine early. Suddenly every other thread is about Roman steampunk armies or trains across Gaul. Has anyone else seen this trend take over or am I just reading the wrong threads?

4 comments

4 Comments

oscarc121mo ago

Honestly, it feels like that one idea just caught fire and now half the history side of the internet is Roman trains. I've been scrolling past those threads for weeks and it's the same maps and debates every single time. Do you think it's just a phase that'll burn out soon or are we stuck with it?

kelly6381mo ago

Wait, Dave saw a map of Roman railroads across Gaul? For real? That's wild if someone actually put that together... but I bet it was just some guy's fan edit of a Roman road map.

paul_taylor211mo ago

Just block the word "steam engine" on whatever forum you're using and it fixes half the problem. Those threads always spiral into the same five arguments about logistics anyway.

william_harris1mo ago

My buddy Dave swore he saw a forum where someone mapped Roman railroads across Gaul.