Physics paper wedding proposal goes viral
Two Australian physicists have caused a stir online after their wedding proposal, dubbed 'the world's nerdiest', went viral.
After seven years of dating, Brendan McMonigal popped the question to girlfriend Christie Nelan with an unusually romantic physics paper.
It doesn't read like poetry, but the report includes an analytical introduction detailing how they met, an overview of results on reaching a semi-bound state and spatial
independence and the effects of additional bodies.
The single-page report charts the couple's courtship with a graph, Figure 1: The happiness over time, which proves the pair's emotional wellbeing improved as their relationship evolved.
"The study began on the 23rd March 2005... the subject spontaneously appeared in a red coat and 'Paddington bear' hat and was similarly spontaneously introduced by a local social node," Brendan wrote in the report.
The night Brendan handed the paper to Christie he asked her to meet on the University of Sydney campus, where they first locked eyes as freshman science students, before heading out for dinner.
Christie told News Limited that as soon as she received the report she tried to tuck it away in her bag to read later, until she realised her partner was kneeling before her.
"I hesitated because it was only one page, which is very short for your average physics paper, and then I realised Brendan was giving me a very odd look," Ms Nelan said.
"So I looked at the paper more carefully and realised Brendan was the author."
Brendan wraps up his report, 'Two body interactions: A longitudinal study', with a brief conclusion which states 'the subject's response to this proposal should be indicated below'.
The line is followed by two boxes asking yes, or no.
Christie made it clear she ticked yes when she uploaded the page onto social networking sight Reddit, and has received more than one million views.
The couple, who now live in Canberra, planned to get married on their eight year anniversary next month.
