A 1992 watercolor painting by Brian Swords - better known as the artist Biohazard, depicting two rats in bed, naked, holding each other very close. He donated it (among others) to an annual auction by the WITF-TV station in central Pennsylvania. It was sold for 72$.

Much later, on an episode of Last Week Tonight in 2020, host John Oliver explained how he had found a recording of the broadcast for the aforementioned auction during quarantine, and wished to own Stay Up Late. He posted an open bounty of $1,000 cash for the painting and a donation of $20,000 to the donor's local food bank, using HBO's money, and requested any answers to its whereabouts be sent to him at [email protected]. Eventually someone came forward, emailing a photo featuring the painting and a copy of the most recent newspaper, with the message "I believe I have something you want." It now resides in his personal collection, alongside 2 others.

John Oliver intended the segment to be a comment on how it was easier to find obscure rat erotica from some unknown artist than get tested for COVID-19 in the United States, but it has since blossomed into a meme of its own out of many that now surround the man.