On the High Holy Days, as well as on the Sabbath and at weddings and bar mitzvahs, yarmulke-wearing males share an ancient and universal problem: how to keep their skullcaps on their heads.
Bobby pins are used by everyday wearers of kippahs. This solution is not ideal, as bobby pins tend to get lost. A Brooklyn Rabbi, Sholom Ber Schapiro, in search of a sophisticated scientific solution to the skullcap-slippage problem, contacted an Israeli scientist, Herman Branover, at the Beer-Sheva University of Negev, whose field is magneto-hydrodynamics. Branover referred the rabbi to his friend from Russia, BNL Mechanical Engineer Lev Neymotin, Department of Nuclear Energy (DNE).
Rabbi Schapiro suggested the use of glues or magnets, but Neymotin immediately thought of a simpler, mechanical fastener: Velcro. After consulting with the manufacturer of Velcro and experimenting with various Velcro samples, “Kippon” was begotten last March. It is an ingenious product with a clever name, to keep your kippah on.