Nightcaps People Suggesting Warm Hat People's Hair Wear

In this episode, a "nightcap" is an alcoholic drink drunken right before going to bed, usually to help one fall asleep. However, a "nightcap" is also a warm hat that used to be worn when people went to bed. Nightcaps were very common during the "Middle Ages" (the period of European history between the 5th and 15th centuries), but are rarely used "these days" (in modern times).

Nightcaps were used to keep people's head warm at night, but they also "served another purpose" (had another reason for existing): they helped prevent the "spread" (expansion; growth; movement into new areas) of "lice" (small insects that live in people's and animals' hair and bite the skin, causing it to itch). In the Middle Ages, many people had little or no hair, instead choosing to wear "wigs" (artificial hair). These wigs often had a lot of lice. So, when people wore nightcaps to bed instead of wigs, they were able to keep the lice away from their skin and stay warmer during cold nights.

Women's nightcaps were normally just a long piece of "fabric" (cloth) that they "wrapped" (put around something else several times; rolled) around their head. Men's nightcaps were hats that had a very long, pointed part on top. The long part was wrapped around the neck for extra warmth.

Nightcaps are "out of fashion" (uncommon and not popular) now, but some people do still wear a hat to bed for warmth, especially if they are "bald" (without hair on one's head) and are in a cold place, such as when sleeping "outdoors" (outside). However, they are unlikely to call these hats "nightcaps."