A Sightseer's Guide to EngineeringNational Society of Professional EngineersNational Engineer's Week
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The kazoo is a type of instrument called a mirliton, which has a fixed interior membrane that vibrates in response to sound waves. Although it has ancient roots, the kazoo as we know it was invented in the 1840s by Alabama Vest, an African-American performer in Macon, Georgia, The submarine-shaped kazoo was shown at the Georgia State Fair in 1852.


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© 2010 NSPE. A Sightseer's Guide to Engineering | Disclaimer | Contact: Stacey Ober, pr@nspe.org, at 703-684-2815
NEW YORK Printable version
Kazoo Factory, Museum, & Gift Shop of Eden
8703 South Main Street
Eden, NY 14057-1395
716/992-3960
Web Site
From a viewing space in the museum, which chronicles kazoo history, see how kazoos are made. Free. 
Hours of Operation: Open Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. View kazoos being made Wed.-Fri. Need a map?
Even with kazoos, engineers can toot their own horn--to mass produce metal kazoos, you need manufacturing engineering. In 1912, traveling salesman Emil Sorg teamed up with Michael J. McIntyre to do just that. After their initial success, McIntyre moved to Eden, New York, to start his own factory. He partnered with the owner of a metal-forming plant, and the partners established the Original American Kazoo Company in 1916. McIntyre received a patent for the metal kazoo in 1923. Now owned by Brimms, Inc., the company still uses the same die presses that were installed in 1907. It's the only original metal kazoo factory operating in the world.
 
Who Made It: Alabama Vest, Emil Sorg, and Michael J. McIntyre
 
Photo Credit: Original American Kazoo Company