Nigerian mothers use gourd hats to shade their babies heads, and Chinese workers used gourd hats while building American railroads. Gourds are the basis of musical instruments from rattles, to banjos, sitars, marimbas and more from gourds. Pablo Casals learned to play on a gourd cello. Popular music and folk revival groups are recreating and using gourd musical instruments like the song bow, thumb piano and didgeredoo. Shakerees have made their way onto stages with singers and dancers.
Gourds also make great silly stuff.
Right off the vine, penguin gourds are more than halfway to being penguin statues. Goose gourds, a type of bottle, grow into angry geese. Dinosaurs, swans, whales and elephants can start with gourds. Gourds can be doll heads. Holiday ornaments made from gourds can range from Thanksgiving turkeys to Christmas tree angels and permanent Easter eggs.