Pop Quiz: Fall of Rome, or Right Now?
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Pop Quiz: Fall of Rome, or Right Now?
How often do you think about the Roman Empire? Are you thinking about it right now, because I asked if you ever think about it? Or are you, instead, suddenly craving a caesar salad?
No matter. If you read my upcoming book This Won’t Help — available for preorder at any seller listed here — you’ll think about the Roman Empire at least once when you hit the collection’s only pop quiz, excerpted below. The answer key is provided, so feel free to let me know how high you scored!
Pop Quiz: Fall of Rome, or Right Now?
You’ve been thinking about things other than the Roman Empire for too long. It’s time for a pop quiz! You decide: Are we describing the conditions that led to the fall of Rome, or right now? Check the answer key at the end to see how you did!
Growing economic inequality
Fall of Rome Right now
Rampant plague
Fall of Rome Right now
Loose, comfortable clothing back in fashion
Fall of Rome Right now
Frequent attacks on politicians
Fall of Rome Right now
Overspending on the military
Fall of Rome Right now
A lot of lying down on the couch after dinner
Fall of Rome Right now
Destabilizing financial crisis
Fall of Rome Right now
Worsening political instability
Fall of Rome Right now
Goths making a comeback
Fall of Rome Right now
Widespread food shortages
Fall of Rome Right now
Rising threat of civil war
Fall of Rome Right now
“Succession” super popular
Fall of Rome Right now
Alarming spike in corruption
Fall of Rome Right now
Deepening social divisions
Fall of Rome Right now
Running water is probably OK to drink, but we can’t be sure
Fall of Rome Right now
Sharp religious discord
Fall of Rome Right now
Looming environmental cataclysm
Fall of Rome Right now
The Senate doing nothing about any of this
Fall of Rome Right now
ANSWER KEY
Fall of Rome: 1–18 / Right now: 1–18
Preorder! Blurbs!
My debut collection hits shelves October 24, but you can pre-order a copy right now! Here’s what early readers of This Won’t Help are saying:
Behind the Writing
I’ll be featuring some pieces from This Won’t Help in brief Behind the Writing sections. Today, the excerpt above is from a little more than halfway through the collection. That’s where all pop quizzes should live — where they’re most likely to freak you out.
Goths making a comeback and “Succession” being popular are trends that mean completely different and much more benign things today than they did 1500 years ago. In some ways, this short little chapter is an exercise in wordplay. In others, it’s a means of framing some of our most pressing issues inside of our modern deluge of content and viral moments (set inside of a listicle-style quiz, just as Marcus Aurelius envisioned).
That’s all for today — thanks for subscribing, and see you next week!