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Whether you call it a beanie, a tuque, or a watch cap, a tight-fitting knitted wool cap offers efficient warmth in winter months. In recent years, these mainstays of sailors have been embraced by skiers, rock stars, and anyone with a product to...
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Whether you call it a beanie, a tuque, or a watch cap, a tight-fitting knitted wool cap offers efficient warmth in winter months. In recent years, these mainstays of sailors have been embraced by skiers, rock stars, and anyone with a product to sell, although beanies will probably never be as prostituted for products and politicians as trucker hats. It should not come as a surprise that wool caps as we think of them today are thought to have evolved in Norway and Wales, where countless sheep were raised for their wool. For those who labored outdoors in these rain-soaked climates, whether on land or at sea, wool caps provide protection from the cold and damp, thanks to the high amount of naturally occurring lanolin in the fiber. Characteristics of beanies include a lack of a brim, with or without a seam. Some beanies are knit extra long so that they can be folded up at the bottom, like cuff at the ends of pant legs. If the weather gets too cold, these cuffs can be opened so that the cap covers the wearer's ears. Even more radical is the balaclava, which is essentially a knit cap that cover the entire head and neck, leaving only an opening for the face. The tops of beanies are sometimes topped by a knit ball or bobble, also called a pom-pom. These give the wearer a handle to pull the cap off quickly, but they are probably mostly for decoration. For example, ski caps often have pom-poms.

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