Most great archaeological discoveries involve years of fieldwork, dense jungle, and a lot of digging. This one involved a guy clicking through page after page of Google results, the kind of Internet rabbit hole most of us only tumble into when we’re bored at home. Luke Auld-Thomas, a PhD student at Tulane University, was deep in a search when he found it. “I was on something like page 16 of Google search and found a laser survey done by a Mexican organization for environmental monitoring,” he told the BBC in 2024. That laser survey turned out to contain an entire ancient Mayan city, hidden under forest cover for centuries. Aerial view of ancient ruins in Tulum. Photo credit: Dronepicr via Wikimedia Commons The survey used LiDAR, a mapping technique that fires laser pulses from a plane or satellite to measure distances to the ground. When you strip away the tree canopy from the data, you can see what’s underneath: in this case, pyramids, causeways, sports fields, amphitheaters, and thousands of structures in the southeastern Mexican state of Campeche. The organization that originally collected the data was monitoring the environment. They had no idea they’d flown over a lost city. Auld-Thomas and a fellow archaeologist named it Valeriana, after a nearby lagoon. A Mayan Metropolis The numbers are staggering. The city is thought to have housed between 30,000 and 50,000 people between roughly 750 and 850 AD, which is more than the population of the region today. Its density ranks second only to Calakmul, the largest known Mayan site in Latin America, located about 100 kilometers away. Researchers believe Valeriana may have served as a capital. Professor Marcello Canuto, a co-author on the research study and an anthropology professor at Tulane, said the discovery challenges a long-standing Western assumption that tropical regions were places “where civilization went to die.” The opposite appears to be true. These environments were densely settled, intensely developed, and home to sophisticated urban centers. Across all three jungle sites the team surveyed, they identified over 6,674 buildings. The find is part of a broader revolution in archaeology. LiDAR has been quietly rewriting what we know about ancient civilizations for over a decade. A 2013 study used the same technique to reveal massive urban networks around Angkor in Cambodia. In 2018, researchers used it to find more than 60,000 structures in the Guatemalan jungle. The technology lets archaeologists “digitally deforest” landscapes that would take lifetimes to survey on foot. What makes Valeriana striking is that nobody had to go anywhere to find it. The data had already been collected. It was just sitting in a file online, waiting for someone curious enough to click to page 16. Canuto noted that there are no actual photographs of Valeriana, only LiDAR maps, because no one has visited the site in person yet. As far as anyone knows, the city remains exactly as it has been for centuries, swallowed by forest, now traced in laser points on a researcher’s screen. “The point is that the landscape is definitely settled, that is, settled in the past, and not, as it appears to the naked eye, uninhabited or ‘wild,'” said Professor Elizabeth Graham of University College London. Canuto is hoping for more funding and more drone-based mapping in the coming years. “It would be wonderful over the next 10, 20 years,” he said. “We should have double the amount of ground covered in LiDAR.” This means there are almost certainly more Valerianas out there hidden in plain sight, waiting for the next bored grad student to scroll far enough. The post Archaeology student found a lost Maya city on page 16 of a Google search appeared first on Upworthy.

In the age of “being real” about our lives, the idea that marriage is hard has become a standard trope. People love to talk about how long-term relationships take work, couples have conflicts, and marriage counselors exist for a reason. However, there’s a counterargument to the “marriage is hard” idea, and one woman is stating it clearly. Haley made a video saying that the hill she will die on is that “marriage is not hard.” “If you think marriage itself is hard, then you’re probably not with the right person,” she said. “Life is hard. Extenuating circumstances in your life can be very difficult. And they can put pressure on your life and on your marriage, for sure. But the marriage itself is not meant to be hard. Like, my marriage gets me through the hard other things of life.” @haleyngauthier and I’ll keep shouting it from the rooftops!!!! #happilymarried #relationshipadviceforwomen #bigsisteradvice ♬ original sound – haley Should marriage be hard? It’s a pretty bold set of statements. But how much of it applies across the board? Some people agreed with her completely: “Agreed. Life is hard, your relationship should make it easier.” “My marriage is the EASIEST part of my life.” “Marriage isn’t hard. Life is hard and your person makes it easier.” “My marriage is what makes the ‘bad days’ not so bad. Life is hard but being married to the right person is not.” “I totally agree. Marriage is not hard – LIFE is hard. But if you are with the right person you will face the difficult times together as a united front.” “Life is hard, marriage should be the respite. If marriage is making your life hard, that’s a partner problem, not a marriage problem. My marriage is my safety from all of life’s messes.” “I will absolutely die on this hill too. Life can be challenging but my marriage never contributes to those challenges. I’ve been married for 22 years.” Marriage isn’t hard when you marry the right person https://t.co/BFJC8f2uVm— David (@PhillyFanHND) May 28, 2026 If none of those comments resonate with you, or if you’re now wondering if your not-always-easy marriage is doomed, don’t throw in the towel just yet… Rethinking what ‘hard’ means in marriage Not all commenters fully agreed with the idea that marriage isn’t or shouldn’t be hard, however. Largely, it came down to what people mean by “hard.” Some said marriage takes work, but isn’t hard. For others, “work” automatically equals “hard.” However, pretty much all agreed that “hard” doesn’t mean “bad.” “I disagree and I don’t understand why people associate hard with bad. Anything worth having in life (fitness, relationships, success, etc) are hard. We’ve been together 17 years and continually work on ourselves to be better for each other…sometimes that’s hard. It would be way easier to ignore my toxic traits and stay the same. It should be easy most of the time and it is, but it’s ok if it’s hard sometimes.” A couple holding pinkies (Photo credit: Canva) “I also think people can sometimes mistake something taking effort with something being ‘hard.’ Like any close relationship worth having is going to take effort, that doesn’t mean it should be HARD.” “No, marriage is hard. That doesn’t mean it’s bad or not worth it. Marathons are hard. Kids are hard. Staying fit is hard. Having dogs is hard. All of those things are amazing and wonderful and 100% worth it, but marriage is hard.” “I think what ppl sort of mix up is something taking work and effort and something being hard. Marriage takes work, effort, and understanding. But it’s worth it. That’s your person. Of course I want to work on our relationship. Evolve how we love one another.” “26 years in, marriage is MOSTLY not hard. But if you go thinking that if your marriage is hard then you aren’t with the right person, there’s a good chance you’ll bail on the wonderful life meant for you. Marriage IS hard at times, and how the two of you come out of those times will determine how good it is thereafter.” “I’m currently getting a masters degree in MFT, and I respectfully disagree. Any relationship, regardless of the variety, can be hard. It can be a pretty hurtful thing to tell people that if they feel their marriage is hard sometimes, that they aren’t with the right person. Someone going through a tough period in their marriage could be incredibly distraught hearing something like this. I absolutely agree marriage is amazing, but it can also be hard.” People who had hard marriages because they married the wrong person weighed in A couple arguing (Photo credit: Canva) Sometimes it’s true that marriage is hard because it’s simply a bad partnership, as several commenters attested to: “Marriage with my ex husband was extremely difficult and almost destroyed me. Marriage with my husband is magical, mystical, wonderful even 3 kids in.” “I’ve been married twice. One marriage was very hard, the other was not hard. If it’s too hard, it might be the wrong person.” “My first marriage was incredibly hard, but because so many people told me it would be I just figured it was normal. But now that I’m remarried to someone who I have much more compatibility with I’ve realized marriage shouldn’t be hard at all. It still takes work for sure, but it’s not a source of stress for me any longer – it’s a source of joy and fulfillment that makes getting through life easier.” “Exactly! My first marriage was hard and awfulllllll my second marriage? Best thing of my life ” People who’ve had hard-but-good marriages also weighed in A couple in marriage counseling (Photo credit: Canva) Then again, marriage being hard doesn’t always mean a bad match. The couple might need counseling or other help. It could be that certain phases that strain your relationship make it feel hard. People shared those experiences, too: “My marriage was VERY hard before we got therapy. both individual and couples. almost 5 years of hard work later, it’s a freaking breeze. yeah we still get annoyed at each other but we now have the tools to communicate with each other.” “Meshing two lives together has inherently difficult aspects to it so I feel it’s a bit foolish to tell people they aren’t with the right person if they think marriage itself can be hard. My wife is amazing and not only is my life so much better with her in it, but I have grown to be a much better person because of her being in my life. There absolutely have been times when the marriage itself has been difficult though. You know you are with the right person when both parties are wanting, willing, and able to work through those difficulties together.” “Marriage can be hard during different seasons of your life. But if you take the time to nurture it, you’ll be ok. I’ve been married almost 31 years and with my husband for 38. We’ve gone through hard things, but we know that the hard things will pass if we lean on each other.” Reframing ‘hard’ or ‘work’ as ‘tending’ a relationship A happy couple on the beach (Photo credit: Canva) So what’s the verdict? Though it’s hard to make sweeping generalizations about marriage, it seems reasonable to say that marriage itself should not make life harder. Ideally, marriage should be a safe place and a refuge from the hard parts of life. Many marriages actually are “easy,” whether it’s due to personality or attitude. But by far, the most popular comment was this one: “Tangentially related, reframing ‘relationships take work’ to ‘relationships need tending’ is huge.” Work sounds hard. Tending sounds life-giving. That simple mindset shift can make a big difference. But if marriage is hard, it doesn’t necessarily spell doom. Perhaps the couple needs to do some work, individually or together. Maybe it’s a season where the marriage needs some extra tending. Or if both of those efforts fail, it could be worth exploring whether the match, not marriage itself, is the issue. Here’s to the marriages that are easy and to those that need a little more tending. You can follow Haley on TikTok. The post Woman sparks heated but helpful debate by insisting that ‘marriage isn’t hard’ appeared first on Upworthy.

Many people are fascinated by the Amish community. A big part of the fascination comes from the people who look and live as if they’ve been frozen in time. It turns out, the reason it appears that Amish people are stuck in the past is not that complicated. People travel from all over the country to visit “Amish Country,” to get a glimpse into the Amish way of life. The community is located in south-central Pennsylvania, in Lancaster County, where they keep to themselves. In 2026, the religious sect still gets around on horse and buggy. White wooden buildingPhoto Credit: Canva They don’t take part in any modernization, including zippers on their clothing. People today associate the Amish with being isolated from the outside world, but that wasn’t always the case. PBS reveals in a recent documentary that the Amish used to live in town with other communities until the early 1900s. Sociologist, Donald B. Kraybill, tells PBS, “I think for the first hundred years from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century, the Amish felt more at home here.” “Amish people shared a lot of lifestyle similarities with people who are not Amish. And so they were living in a largely Pennsylvania German culture where people spoke Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch,” an unidentified voice is heard saying in the short clip. Black carriage pulled by brown horsePhoto Credit: Canva Fleeing persecution When the Amish came to the colonies, they were already accustomed to existing in isolation. The group practices a religion called Anabaptist, a form of the Protestant religion that was considered “radical” in the late 1600s. Their belief in adult baptism and the rejection of infant baptism made them targets during the 16th century. “Baptism, adult baptism was a capital offense, and they got the medieval equivalent of the electric chair,” Kraybill recounts. “2,000 to 3,000 died as martyrs. The government appointed Anabaptist hunters that would go out looking for them, so they would hold services in caves, hold services in the woods at night, and basically became an underground movement. And that has really stayed in the DNA of Amish culture and Amish history.” Protecting and prioritizing connection While the Amish enjoyed living life among their neighbors, the Industrial Revolution brought change. The clothing began to change, not only in style but also in the means of production. No longer were dresses and trousers being cut and sewn by hand. Machines made the process much quicker and less personalized. These changes made the group uneasy as the garments were seen as flashy and immodest according to the PBS documentary. But it was the invention, and subsequent spreading use of the telephone, that caused them to retreat into community isolation. “And it was with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the fads and the fashions that were becoming available. That’s what troubled the Amish mind and troubled the Amish soul,” Kraybill reveals. “The focus on the Amish society is on the community, always on the community. In American life, the focus is on the individual getting ahead. Freedom of individual choice, making a name for yourself, self achievement. All of those are in direct opposition to key values of the Amish way of life.” Amish homesteadPhoto Credit: Canva The sociologist further explains that community, humility, and putting yourself under the authority of the church were all key parts of Amish life. These differences became a stark contrast between the Amish and their neighbors. Kraybill shares, “The first item of technology that created an issue was the telephone. Because if you have a phone and you can call, why visit? Why go and see the person?” According to PBS, by 1910, the Amish had banned having telephones in the home but allowed the use of public phones. The idea isn’t to avoid all technology, but to have a “firewall” between the Amish and technology. Amish people may still get around with a horse and carriage, but they will ride in a car being driven by someone else. Amish boys in PennsylvaniaPhoto Credit: Canva “The main core of Amish motivation is to keep the local church together,” Kraybill says. “If you give someone the keys to the car, they’re going to go off to the city. Young people will often get jobs. So to the Amish way of thinking, the car will fragment our community. It will splinter the community. It will pull us apart.” In the world, not of it The Amish community is aware that the world has changed drastically since the 1800s. This doesn’t stop them from continuing to keep things as analog as possible. Buttons, clasps, and hooks instead of zippers. Tilling farmland with animals pulling equipment instead of a machine. Using oil lamps instead of electricity, and sewing clothing by hand instead of purchasing from a store. These are all ways the Amish keep things simple. Amish man on farm equipmentPhoto Credit: Canva “They’re in our world, but they’re not part of our world. They’re in the world but not of it, and that’s what they want to be,” Anthropologist, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner explains to PBS. “They are working together to actively live according to Christ’s teachings, and the majority of the world is not doing that. So the sense is that we are pilgrims passing through this world on the way to the eternal world. We don’t get attached to this world. We don’t get attached to the things of this world. We do our best. We try to serve God, and then we hope that will mean we’re worthy of salvation.” The post The Amish are known for their old-fashioned lifestyle. Here’s the real reason they reject technology. appeared first on Upworthy.

A grieving mother discovered a 3.09-carat white gem at Crater of Diamonds State Park, catching a wave of emotional release and hope following a year of personal loss. Keshia Smith planned the trip to Arkansas a year ago, joining her boyfriend and brother on the journey from Pennsylvania. Little did she know she’d be healing […] The post Grieving Mother Finds 3.09 Carat Diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park appeared first on Good News Network.

For Ralph and Cindy Zingarella, 1976 was a very good year. The couple married and has spent the last 50 years together and in love. They share daughters Andrea Bodin, 47, and Dayna Ferraro, 44, who wanted to let their parents know just how much they love them. In honor of their 50th anniversary, Andrea and Dayna pulled off an incredible surprise. “We wanted to do something really special for our parents, as they have always been there and supported us in our lives since the day we were born. They honestly are the best parents anyone could ask for,” Dayna told People. “They have SO many close and special friends, and we knew that all of those people would want to celebrate their special milestone just as much as we did!” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dayna Ferraro (@styledbydaisies) The Couple Arrived at Their 50th Anniversary Party Totally Unaware Dayna and Andrea didn’t want their parents to know about the anniversary party, so they tricked them into believing they were attending a party for Dayna’s birthday at a local steakhouse. When Ralph and Cindy arrived, the guests all yelled, “Surprise.” The pair truly had no idea what they’d walked into. More than 100 of the couple’s closest family and friends attended the 50th anniversary bash. “They had friends come from all over. Some that drove down seven hours from Maine and others who flew in just to see them! The amount of joy and happiness that filled that room that day was something you can’t explain in words,” Dayna told People. “Some of those people there have been in my parents’ lives since they were teenagers. It just goes to show you how loved they truly are!” You can watch the couple’s incredible reaction here. What an incredible testament to true love. May they spend many more years together. This story’s featured image can be found here