You honestly never know what you're going to need when you start researching a fic. You say that it's unlikely that anybody would need to know anything about those topics, but hilariously, I wrote a fic last year that was set in the Caribbean, and I knew nothing about the place!

I definitely agree with you about well-researched stories. Sometimes if the author is a talented enough write, I can skim past the "didn't do the research" bit and enjoy the story, but an author that blends just the right amount of research/information into a well-plotted, nicely written piece is a gem and should be given all of the hugs.