Anti-do-re-mi-fa
November 21, 2024 8:41 AM Subscribe
I remember honking into empty boxes of candy when I was a kid. Why did old boxes of candy make good kazoos and modern boxes of candy don't?
I don't know the answer, which I suspect depends on the candy boxes into which you once honked, but I do know that kazoos produce sound with a vibrating membrane. Maybe Ye Olde Candy Boxes of yore had some thin paper (e.g., the little paper "baskets" around each candy) that would vibrate when hit with a sturdy honk.
Bonus: You can (still!) produce a very satisfying HONK by opening the top of a little Sun-Maid Raisins box, consuming said raisins, and then blowing through the open top toward the sealed bottom.
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:17 AM on November 21 [7 favorites]
Bonus: You can (still!) produce a very satisfying HONK by opening the top of a little Sun-Maid Raisins box, consuming said raisins, and then blowing through the open top toward the sealed bottom.
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:17 AM on November 21 [7 favorites]
Is it possible that it is your kazoo judgements that have changed? I hardly ever whap my siblings with an empty wrapping paper tube these days, but I think the tubes are about the same...
posted by Charity Garfein at 10:18 AM on November 21
posted by Charity Garfein at 10:18 AM on November 21
I remember honking into empty boxes of candy
The kazoo function is provided by one side of the box being partly cellophane. That's what vibrates. Whether there's been some change in candy boxes over the years, I can't say.
posted by JimN2TAW at 12:16 PM on November 21
The kazoo function is provided by one side of the box being partly cellophane. That's what vibrates. Whether there's been some change in candy boxes over the years, I can't say.
posted by JimN2TAW at 12:16 PM on November 21
Paladin 1138 (first response in this thread) touched on it.
Old candy boxes were not sealed up tight as today's are. One of the cardboard ends would be longer than the box was wide, and proper creasing by the manufacturer formed it into a flap that was tucked in snugly to keep the candy in place.
Open the box, eat the candy and squeeze the open end a bit to round it out and fit your mouth. Then blow. The flap on the other end acts as a reed, vibrating in the airstream.
Modern boxes have shorter flaps glued into place.
(I don't remember any cellophane. Maybe there are a couple different ways of turning a candy box into a musical instrument.)
posted by wjm at 1:49 PM on November 21 [3 favorites]
Old candy boxes were not sealed up tight as today's are. One of the cardboard ends would be longer than the box was wide, and proper creasing by the manufacturer formed it into a flap that was tucked in snugly to keep the candy in place.
Open the box, eat the candy and squeeze the open end a bit to round it out and fit your mouth. Then blow. The flap on the other end acts as a reed, vibrating in the airstream.
Modern boxes have shorter flaps glued into place.
(I don't remember any cellophane. Maybe there are a couple different ways of turning a candy box into a musical instrument.)
posted by wjm at 1:49 PM on November 21 [3 favorites]
P.S. By sheer coincidence I have a box in front of me with just such a flap The tamper proof seal for a tube of diclofenac (Arthritis Pain Reliever) is in the tube itself, rather than the box, so the box can be closed more casually.
A moment ago, I produced the exact same sort of note I used to get with the empty Chocolate Babies box. From chocolate candy to topical NSAID; I'm sure there's a metaphor there. But who cares? It's still fun to turn an empty box into a trumpet !
posted by wjm at 2:00 PM on November 21 [4 favorites]
A moment ago, I produced the exact same sort of note I used to get with the empty Chocolate Babies box. From chocolate candy to topical NSAID; I'm sure there's a metaphor there. But who cares? It's still fun to turn an empty box into a trumpet !
posted by wjm at 2:00 PM on November 21 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I used to do this with Smarties (Canadian - the chocolate kind). The end of the box used to be a tucked-in flap, and the folded part of the flap was what would vibrate. But now they’re glued shut instead of tucked in.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:12 PM on November 21 [2 favorites]
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:12 PM on November 21 [2 favorites]
Junior Mints boxes made excellent kazooz. Yep, box end end was just folded not sealed.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 4:26 PM on November 21 [1 favorite]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 4:26 PM on November 21 [1 favorite]
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posted by Paladin1138 at 8:44 AM on November 21 [3 favorites]