Kee Facts: A Few Things You Didn't Know NPR librarian Kee Malesky has been dubbed "the source of all human knowledge," saving NPR hosts and reporters from themselves for 20 years. Now you can share her adventures from the reference desk.
Special Series
Kee Facts: A Few Things You Didn't Know
Adventures from the reference desk with NPR librarian Kee Malesky.
A portrait of Mary Walker from the National Archives. Mathew Brady/NARA hide caption
He's legend now, but Johnny Appleseed was as odd as his myth. Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image hide caption
Alexander Gardner's original caption for this image: "A Lone Grave, on Battle-field of Antietam." Alexander Gardner/Library Of Congress hide caption
A "featherie" golf ball from the 1800s. iStockphoto hide caption
Leon de Lunden of Belgium won the live pigeon shooting event at the 1900 Olympics in Paris — the only time in Olympic history when animals were killed on purpose. Popperfoto/Getty Images hide caption
A photograph of the Watergate complex that was used as an exhibit in the trial of G. Gordon Liddy. National Archives hide caption
Swiss guards march prior to a swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican on Sunday. This year, 26 Swiss men are joining the oldest standing army in the world, swearing to give up their lives to protect the pope. The ceremony is held every May 6 to commemorate the day in 1527 when 147 Swiss Guards died protecting Pope Clement VII during the sack of Rome. Alessandra Tarantino/AP hide caption
President Calvin Coolidge (right) with the national Christmas tree on Dec. 24, 1923. National Photo Company/Library of Congress hide caption
The metric system is based on the number 10. Sounds simple, but the U.S. is having none of it.
iStockphoto.com hide caption
An engraved illustration of fighting during Shays' Rebellion of 1786, circa 1850. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
Two men operate the enormous UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer) in 1960. Hulton Archive/Getty Images/Life hide caption
The horses hit the 1-mile mark during the 1901 Kentucky Derby. Library of Congress hide caption
Lithograph of the 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter in South Carolina's Charleston Harbor. Currier & Ives/Library Of Congress hide caption
Iran recently sent warships to Syria through the Suez Canal — just a friendly visit, they said. AP hide caption
Who Knew? For more than 20 years, research librarian Kee Malesky has answered questions for NPR reporters, editors and hosts. She has compiled some of her favorite bits of "inessential knowledge" — such as which building did Elvis leave last? -- in a new book, All Facts Considered. Robert P. Malesky hide caption