The World is F*ing Cool

Guess what’s coming back?

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:31:48 GMT

Relaunching 2027.

See you soon,
Jacqueline

PS — Former paid subscribers: you will not be charged upon relaunch. TWIFC is moving to a new funding model, keeping everything free for readers.

Hello—and an update—from Jacqueline & TWIFC

Jacqueline Kehoe — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 19:28:01 GMT

Howdy, twifckers. If you’ll scan your inboxes, you’ll notice that I’ve been absent these past few weeks. To cut to the chase: I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed by *gestures at world* and feel myself needing a new chapter.

I have paused paid subscriptions; unfortunately, in doing so, I lost any differentiation in my subscribers—I only know this as I tri…

Call for ideas + 5 fascinating things: Friday, July 4th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 13:12:11 GMT

Happy 4th, y’all. This year, the extent of my patriotism is this bowl of yogurt, strawberries, and blueberries. My neighbor’s Trump flag is back up after a three-month-plus hiatus. I assume the holiday guilt got to them. My “Foxtrot Delta Tango” flag remains unchanged.

I missed last week’s 5FT as I was in Voyageurs National Park, which, wow, what a ball …

5 fascinating things: Friday, June 20th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 13:48:20 GMT

Howdy, y’all. It’s Friday! We made it yet again! Next time you hear from me, I’ll be wandering Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota—until then, I come to you from my too-cluttered desk in Wisconsin, where I sit between battles with the chipmunks and squirrels digging up all my native plants. It’s important to have enemies.

Wish me luck—I’m losing. Unlik…

5 minutes on: The paintings that aren't the Mona Lisa

Jacqueline Kehoe — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 15:46:20 GMT

I’m debuting a new series, probably, titled “5 minutes on: X.” It’s me taking five minutes of my time (a symbolic five minutes, naturally), and you giving no more than five minutes of yours. Topics will run the gamut and be conversational. Let’s dive in.

On Monday, the Louvre, the world's most-visited museum, shut its doors — not due to war, pandemic, or emergency, but because its own staff couldn't breathe under the crushing weight of mass tourism. Thousands of visitors clutched worthless tickets beneath I.M. Pei's iconic glass pyramid as gallery attendants, security personnel, and ticket agents walked off the job in a spontaneous strike.

But, really, it shut down because of the Mona Lisa.

5 fascinating things: Friday, June 13th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 14:22:26 GMT

Hola, twifckeroos. I’m back in Wisconsin after a week in California spent sitting in hot tubs and hiking through sage-filled canyons. I love the Midwest, I do, but…damn. I can see why the houses are seven billion dollars.

But at least we have beer and cheese, so there’s that. Onto 5FT:

Call for ideas + 5 fascinating things: Friday, June 6th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 16:17:19 GMT

Howdy from Southern California, y’all. The weather is perfect. The rents are high. The Mexican food is fabulous. My itinerary includes eating my weight in chips and salsa. (To be honest, my mom took a fall, but she’s doing alright, all things considered.)

Moving on. I have a couple favors to ask:

I got a rankings report in my inbox about the world’s wors…

5 fascinating things: Friday, May 30th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 30 May 2025 14:16:31 GMT

It’s a lovely day. Let’s get out there:

A candid interview with an HGTV star

Jacqueline Kehoe — Wed, 28 May 2025 14:19:44 GMT

One of the perks of this gig is getting to talk to people who would never, ever otherwise speak with you. The below interview is probably one of the most candid I’ve ever been a part of—so candid that I’m only now realizing that I’m not sure I did the job I was supposed to do.

5 fascinating things: Friday, May 23rd

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 23 May 2025 15:19:35 GMT

Hey, twifckers. I’m back stateside—not only did I make it through immigration, but with all the cameras, I waved my blue passport at a man from 15 feet away, and he gave me an unimpressed wave. That was it. As much as it was super-swift, I sure wish you could still get passport stamps wherever you go.

I did not find an ichthyosaur while on the Jurassic C…

Shameless PR plug + 5 fascinating things: Friday, May 16th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 16 May 2025 13:23:21 GMT

Greetings from Exeter! Wow, in addition to the 1000-year-old architecture, the trains and the public bathrooms really are impressive here. More Americans really should be forced to GTFO.

Friendly reminder to any PR person who miraculously still reads this thing: I run a column on Yahoo that’s under my editorial control. I’m looking to start publishing s…

The universe is sending me to...Lyme Regis?

Jacqueline Kehoe — Wed, 14 May 2025 14:00:16 GMT

There have been some strange, too-coincidental events in my life. Like the time my boyfriend dumped me the day we were moving to North Carolina, so instead I drove six hours south to my mom, who—and I don’t say this lightly—was suffering from near-fatal surgery complications and hadn’t yet told me. I wound up caring for her for several months, helping her get back to good health.

I assume this is how the universe works for everyone. Some might call it God; some might call it divine intervention; some might call it the Great Purple People-Eater in The Sky. I call it the universe, lower-case, and I don’t claim to know or understand what it is.

It and I have a special relationship, one that’s typically not profound. Usually it manifests in annoying ways—I swear it knows when I’m about to step outside, even for three minutes, so it can revv up one of my neighbor’s lawnmowers. But sometimes, its movements are strange, hard to ignore, and harder to explain.

Right now, it and I are having one of those moments. I’m on a plane, and then a train, and then a bus, to Lyme Regis, England, and I don’t really understand why.

5 fascinating things: Friday, May 9th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 09 May 2025 14:37:06 GMT

Hello, world. Let’s, as they say, do the thing:

5 fascinating things: Friday, May 2nd

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 02 May 2025 13:53:40 GMT

Hello, friends far and near. It’s Friday, and we’ve got a lot to talk about:

Part II: The lost national parks of America's middle

Jacqueline Kehoe — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 15:13:04 GMT

If there’s one US President synonymous with loving the wild, it’s gotta be good ol’ Teddy Roosevelt. Among other things, the man with a plan and a canal created five US national parks.

And yet 2/5 of that legacy would wind up decommissioned.

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

Last week, we covered the decommissioned Platt National Park in Oklahoma, a 1906 Roosevelt creation. Now let’s talk about a tiny hill in North Dakota, where TR basically said, “We’re takin’ this from the Dakota tribe, so why the hell not?”

5 fascinating things: Friday, April 25th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 15:10:19 GMT

Morning, twifckers. I’ve got some news for paid subscribers: I’m lowering the cost of this newsletter until it’s fully geared up to where I want it to go. I so, so, so appreciate your support—it’s tough being a writer in the digital age. (Can I make this thing a non-profit so it can be tax-deductible? Hmm.)

But other than all that, it’s Friday. It’s spr…

5 fascinating things (+more calls for ideas): Friday, April 18th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 15:51:47 GMT

It just rained, and now the sun is shining. It’s going to be 70º. I know they say April 25th is the perfect day—not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket—but April 18th sure is giving it a run for its money.

Before we go sit in some grass, this week I’m (still) wondering about:

Cool underwater experiences at US national park sites (Nationa…

The lost national parks of America's middle

Jacqueline Kehoe — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 14:29:31 GMT

Think of America's first national parks, and you’re probably picturing Yellowstone. Maybe you picture Yosemite, John Muir begging Teddy Roosevelt to protect California’s big trees and cathedrals of granite. Think of beautiful places in the country—places worth protecting, places worthy of being national parks—and you probably think of the American West. The wild, wild one.

Yeah, not so fast. It wasn’t always like that.

Arkansas’s Hot Springs National Park was technically the country’s first. Mackinac Island—now a resort destination covered in fudge—was second. Indiana Dunes, designated in 2019, had a serious shot at being seventh. Sully's Hill National Park, in Roosevelt's beloved North Dakota, and Platt National Park in Oklahoma both gained and lost their coveted statuses long ago. What would've happened if these places weren't deemed unworthy of gold-tiered regard?

Would we view America's middle any differently?

5 fascinating things: Friday, April 11th

Jacqueline Kehoe — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 16:19:55 GMT

Happy Friday, twifckers. We made it to another weekend. I hope the sun is shining where you are—this weekend looks lovely here in Wisconsin, and I’m hoping to log off of everything and get some gardening work done. (Which, in this instance, means weeding and hauling bricks. And I can’t wait.)

Hoping spring cleanses some of 2025’s residual energy. We’ll s…

The dire wolf isn't back, but these creatures are

Jacqueline Kehoe — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:15:13 GMT

Across the past few days, the return of the dire wolf has taken over the media—it’s one of the first “happy” headlines to take off in a while. I was so chuffed to see how many people were into the idea of protecting species from extinction. That’s so relevant to our age.

Of course, the de-extinction story isn’t really true—the wolves are simply genetically modified gray wolves—and are people really into the idea of protecting species, or are they into the idea of sorcery and absolution from humanity’s terrors on the planet? (As I often say, “Little column A, little column B.”)

But there are so many cool stories of species brought back from the brink that are totally true—humanity has done a good job, at least a few times. And it’s highly possible that the science used to “deextinct” the dire wolf could help other species, lengthening the list of our success stories.

Here are those tales—and where to spot the creatures that almost became fiction.