by I’m not sure why, but I felt unreasonably giddy about the idea of touring a kazoo factory. Doug was not so excited about the opportunity, but I think even he had fun in the end.
The Kazoobie Kazoo Factory has been located in Beaufort, South Carolina, since 2010. They are one of the world’s largest distributors of kazoos (shipping more than one million kazoos a year!), and one of only two kazoo production facilities in the United States. The other is in Eden, New York, but I think we’re calling it done at one kazoo factory tour.
The kazoo dates to the 1840s, or maybe the 1880s, depending on which story you want to believe. Its shape has earned it the nickname, “Down-South Submarine.”
A kazoo is really very simple in its design with just three components. The kazoos we saw being assembled in the factory were constructed of a hollow plastic tube into which a vibrating membrane was inserted, and then a round plastic ring was snapped in place to hold the membrane.
The tour includes a video, demonstrations of the sounds various kazoos make, a tour inside the factory, and –– most importantly –– the opportunity to assemble your very own kazoo. Different members of the Kazoobie staff led us through different stages of the tour, and all seemed really happy to work there.
After we chose our colors and assembled our kazoos, we were invited to play a tune together. Of course, in spite of the signs saying “hum don’t blow,” I immediately blew into my kazoo and thought it was broken when I made no sound.
What a surprise (it was totally not a surprise) that Doug not only was proficient at performing on his kazoo, he was able to add trills, harmony, and other enhancements that even impressed the tour guide.
The factory includes a small museum on the history of the kazoo. We didn’t realize it at the time, but it is one of the largest collections of kazoos in the world! Of course there’s the obligatory gift shop, where I was once again grateful that living in a van squashed gift shop impulses, but we did come away from the experience with our own assembled souvenir kazoos.
