What I've learned from reading fiction

Over at Mobile Read, the question was posed, "What did you learn from fiction that you hadn't expected going in?"  Well, I was thinking about it, and realized just how much I've learned over the years I've been reading fiction.  I also realized that a good chunk of my success in Trivial Pursuit stems from reading one author. One author, you ask?  Yep, one.  Here's a list off the top of my head (as posted by me at Mobile Read).

I now know amazing bits of trivia about vintage clothing, jewelry making, archaeology, egyptology, Munich, needlework, the history of Virginia, forensic anthropology, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the layout of the Oriental Institute in Chicago, witchcraft, ghosts, Revolutionary war history, the study of the occult, politics, scuba diving, landscaping, architecture, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and rose rustling.

The author is Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters.  If you don't believe me, start at the beginning with "Sons of the Wolf" and just keep reading.  You'll learn it all, too.