Caleb M. Brown, a Canadian paleontologist, just published a paper announcing the discovery of a new dinosaur species related to the Triceratops, called Regaliceratops peterhewsi. But a two-line note he included at the bottom of the paper's acknowledgement section might be even more unusual:
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As Michael Balter at Science Magazine first noticed, Brown used the paper to propose to his girlfriend. The blog Retraction Watch reached out to the editors of the journal, Current Biology, who confirmed that they were aware of the proposal and that it was a first for the journal.
Though a physicist wrote up a mock paper as a marriage proposal in 2013, this is the first instance of a proposal in a real paper that Retraction Watch is aware of.
According to Science, O'Brien actually saw the proposal in an earlier draft before publication. She said yes.
Read more about the Regaliceratops, discovered in Alberta:
An illustration of the new species. (Julius T. Csotonyi/Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta)
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