Get out your zoomaphones, because Thursday is National Kazoo Day! There is more information at this website about this holiday:
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreh...y/kazooday.htm
and many other odd annual celebrations:
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/january.htm
Also check out http://www.kazoos.com/historye.htm
The above image is the enormous kazoo atop the kazoo factory in Eden, New York
National Kazoo Day
When: Always January 28th
People young and old love Kazoos. Kazoo Day celebrates the the joy of this musical instrument.
Alabama Vest of Macon Georgia made the first Kazoo in the 1840's. Actually, he conceived the Kazoo, and had Thaddeus Von Clegg, a German clockmaster make it to his specifications.
Commercial production of the Kazoo didn't occur until many years later in 1912. Manufacturing was first started by Emil Sorg in Western New York. Sorg joined up with Michael McIntyre, a Buffalo tool and die maker. Production moved to Eden, NY where the factory museum remains today. [Ed. note: See below, or go to website]
Kazoos are easy to play. Simply hum a tune into the kazoo, and you're an expert. Kazoos can be played solo, or in groups. It plays a great tune both ways.
What do you do on National Kazoo day? Why, play the kazoo, of course.
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Origin of National Kazoo Day:
We know when the Kazoo was invented, and by whom. We know a lot about the history of the Kazoo. But, we do not know who started National Kazoo Day.....yet. Stay, uh...tuned.
There is no evidence to suggest that this is truly a "National" day, which requires an act of congress.
If you have any information about this holiday, please email us.
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Now, I recall back in the early 1970s, when musicians were experimenting with all kinds of instruments, someone decided to put an electric pickup on a kazoo. He put it through a wah-wah and a distortion unit, and was wowing audiences with his extraordinary device. Then one day a bit of spit dripped down the metal barrel, and the results were ... shocking! He retired on the spot - or, whenever he regained consciousness!
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http://www.edenny.org/kazoo.html
The Original American Kazoo Company
The Kazoo Boutique, LLC www.edenkazoo.com
8703 S. Main Street
Eden, NY 14057,
Hours: Tues - Sat
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sun. Noon to 5:00 PM
Adjacent Factory opened in 1916; world's sole producer of metal kazoos, museum tours
Contact: Karen K Smith, Owner
(716) 992-3960 (716) 992-3960 .
The original American Kazoo Company was established in 1916 and is now the only metal kazoo factory in the world. The museum highlights history, amusing trivia, and shows step by step the way kazoos are made.
This working museum continues to manufacture a complete line of kazoos. Believe it or not, kazoos are made the same way today as in 1916. The machines that make kazoos are the same die presses that were installed in 1907 when the building housed a sheet metal workshop. Over the years, demand for kazoos became so great that the other metal operations ceased. Today, as in the past, over 20 machines are run with one 10 horsepower motor connected with overhead jack shafts and leather belts. The factory is truly one of the few remaining working museums.
THE ALL-AMERICAN INSTRUMENT: Although the kazoo has its roots in Africa, it has become as American as apple pie. It is the most democratic of instruments because anyone can play.
THE BIRTH OF THE AMERICAN KAZOO: The kazoo was invented by an American named Alabama Vest and made to his specifications by a German clockmaster by the name of Thaddeus Von Clegg in Macon, Georgia back in the 1840's. A traveling salesman by the name of Emil Sorg brought the idea of manufacturing metal kazoos to Western New York in about 1912. He teamed up with Michael McIntyre, a Buffalo tool and die maker, and together they found a way to manufacture the first production kazoos. McIntyre moved to Eden, York where he went into partnership with Harry Richardson, the owner of a metal forming plant.
KAZOO PATENTED IN 1923: McIntyre and Richardson began producing metal kazoos in 1914. McIntyre even received a patent for the kazoo in 1923. Samuel Whetzle was the key employee who later married the boss' daughter and took over the business in 1939. After running the plant for many years, Whetzle sold the company to a group of Buffalo investors. In 1985, the company was sold to Brimms Inc., a local family business run by the father son team of Robert and David Berghash. They undertook the renovation of the buildings and the machines.
THE MUSEUM: Kazoos of all shapes and sizes are permanently displayed in the museum. Their collection chronicles the history o kazoos as well as the factory. Display cases contain several types of wooden kazoos, liquor bottle shaped kazoos that celebrated the end of prohibition, antique kazoo instruments, silver and gold kazoos, and many more. From the museum space, you can view kazoos being made on the original equipment.
VISIT THE KAZOO CAPITAL OF THE WORLD: Museum and gift shop hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 A.M. until 5 P.M. ; Sunday - Noon until 5 P.M. Open year round. Admission is free. For free group tours call for an appointment: (716) 992-3960 (716) 992-3960 .
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