Beaufort, South Carolina, yep, that's right, home to Kazoobie, Inc. which makes about a million kazoos a year. The kazoo is one of only 3 instruments invented in the United States (the others being the banjo and the glass harmonica - an obsolete Ben Franklin invention). The museum has over 200 kazoo related items including rare kazoos and sheet music. Says museum curator Boaz Frankel, "I think it's important to celebrate the kazoo and to educate the public about its unique history."
Legend has it that Alabama Vest of Macon, GA, conceived of the kazoo and brought the idea to German-American clockmaker Thaddeus Von Clegg. Vest and Von Clegg completed the first kazoo in the 1840's and introduced it to the world at the 1852 Georgia State Fair. The kazoo was a success from the start and was soon being sold across the region as the "Down South Submarine."
Lesson learned: do my travel research BEFORE visiting.
