International Kazoo Day Date in the current year: February 19, 2024

The kazoo us a type of membranophone, i.e. a musical instrument in which a stretched membrane vibrates to produce or modify sound. Its closest relative is the mirliton, also known as eunuch flute or onion flute; the kazoo is regarded by some as a type of mirliton, while others insist that it was derived from mirliton but is a musical instrument in its own right.

The kazoo is played by humming into the bigger side of the instrument. The pressure of the air causes the membrane inside the kazoo to vibrate and change the player’s voice, adding a “buzzing” quality to it. Kazooists can produce a wide range of sounds by humming specific syllables into the instrument. Although a lot of people consider the kazoo a toy, it can be played professionally in various bands.

The history of the kazoo is somewhat murky, but it is generally thought to have been invented in the mid-19th century by Alabama Vest, an African-American man from Macon, Georgia, in collaboration with the German-American clock manufacturer Thaddeus Von Clegg. However, this claim isn’t supported by any documentary evidence.

The first documented mention of the kazoo is dated January 9, 1883. On this day, American inventor Warren Herbert Frost received a patent for the kazoo. However, Frost’s kazoo didn’t look like the modern submarine-shaped kazoo. The modern design was patented by George D. Smith on May 27, 1902.

Commercial production of kazoos was launched by Emil Sorg and Michael McIntyre in 1912. Four years later, they teamed up with Harry Richardson to establish the Original American Kazoo Company and opened the first kazoo factory in Eden, New York. The company is still in operation; in addition to the kazoo factory, it runs a kazoo museum and a gift shop.

The other kazoo factory in the United States, the Kazoobie Kazoo Factory, is located in Beaufort, South Carolina. It also operates a kazoo museum that was originally established in 2007 in Seattle, Washington by kazoo enthusiast Boaz Frankel and was relocated to Beaufort in 2010.

The exact origins of International Kazoo Day are unclear, but it is believed to have been inspired by National Kazoo Day, which is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of January. Chaplin Willard Rahn of the Joyful Noise Kazoo Band founded National Kazoo Day in 1983 to celebrate the amazing musical instrument that is kazoo and the happiness and joy that it brings to people of different ages and diverse backgrounds.

There are many ways to celebrate International Kazoo Day. If you’re a kazoo player, you can post a video of yourself playing the kazoo on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, teach someone to play the kazoo, make your own kazoo, or even start a kazoo band with fellow musicians. If you can’t play the kazoo but got interested in the instrument, you can celebrate by learning more about the kazoo and famous kazoo players, listening to kazoo music, or starting to learn how to play the kazoo. And don’t forget to post about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #InternationalKazooDay and #KazooDay.