AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING XXVI 

1. Vexillology is the study of flags.

2. One gallon is equal to 768 teaspoons.

3. The Broadway musical "Rent" is based on the Puccini opera "La Boheme."

4. The ingredients of Grape-Nuts Flakes breakfast cereal have never included either grapes or nuts. 

5. Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia - located between Sydney and Melbourne.

6. The "holy trinity" of Cajun/Creole cooking is onions, green bell peppers, and celery. These form the base of almost all Cajun/Creole dishes.

7. Coco Chanel's "Little Black Dress" has become such a ubiquitous fashion staple, it is often just abbreviated LBD. 

8. There is no balsam in balsamic vinegar. Balsam is a resin exuded by various trees and used as a base for certain medical and cosmetic products. Balsamic vinegar is made from only one ingredient - grape must (mosto in Italian) - the sweet juice of freshly pressed grapes. The juice is boiled to a concentrate, fermented and acidified. It is then aged from 12 - 25 years or longer in wooden barrels. Official traditional balsamic vinegar comes from only two areas - Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. Both places have a DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) from the European Union, with strict rules for production and marketing.