So, I got this essay that I need done by tuesday. I'm supposed to pick three things from the time of the Roman empire and compare them to todays world, and I need you, fellow planeteers, to give me some ideas!
Look up the history of "zero"... the lack of a zero to put on accounting ledgers led to the downfall of the Roman empire. It took much more space to write "There is nothing there" than to write "0", thus, accountants would instead put an "I"... a small dishonesty that eventually led to the development of even more contrived financial legerdemain, leading up to a massive economic downturn when the housing market fell through, leading to the financial ruin of the Empire, which was then boought out by various Chinese concerns.
No, seriously, they had no zeroes. I don't know how they even lived without it. In fact, I don't even know how a grade-school student could finish his math finals if the questions were: " ( CLIV / XLVII ) * XXXIII " It would take him all day to write the answers down...
Very good... great idea as well, I would have suggested something similar... "From Gladiator to Gladiators"... 
