FIFA 2010 World Cup: A dozen facts about the very profitable Vuvuzela
You may hate them or love them but the distinct sound of the vuvuzela has already become the sound of the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Even after receiving complaints from all around the world. They have made such a major impact that authorities have considered banning them.
Despite that they have the support of the FIFA’s President Sepp Blatter and to counter the effect the FIFA board has introduced a quieter version of vuvuzelas.
There has been constant criticism from reporters, broadcasters, FIFA officials and the board itself. But it seems that the tradition will not just live on but will make an impact on foreign land. The vuvuzelas have been considered a part of South African culture and tradition making it very hard to ban them.
Experts have said that the sound of a vuvuzela can reach about 130 decibels which is very harmful for human hearing. The fans in the stadium are about 100,000 to 80,000 and even if just 10,000 of them are handed the plastic horn they would have probably developed a weapon of sound.
The sound of the vuvuzelas on field sounds like a stampede of elephants which on television seems like a swarm of humongous buzzing bees.
Let’s take a look at the history of this horn to see what it’s all about:
1. A vuvuzela is a blowing horn around 1 m in length most commonly used by fans in football matches in South Africa.
2. To get the pure blast of sound from a vuvuzela you need some descent lung capacity to produce the monotone obstreperous sound that shows the full extent of what this horn can really do.
3. Practised and regular users can blow the horn to produce sounds as high as 127 decibels that’s more than a chainsaw or a lawn mower.
4. When researched, sufficient evidence has been found that the vuvuzelas can lead to permanent hearing damage even from durations of as little as fifteen minutes of listening to this horn.
5. So where does the word vuvuzela come from. One theory suggested is that it came from the word Zulu which means making a vuvu sound. Another is that it’s a township slang word for taking a shower.
6. The vuvuzela has become a symbol of concurrence and identity that South Africans aspire to. For a lot of people this has become a major part of the essence of being in a stadium to watch a football match and to really enjoy the game.
7. Originally it was made from a kudu horn and said to be from the ancient days of South Africa and was used to summon people to gatherings.
8. The monotonous sound made by a vuvuzela has been correlated with a giant hive of bees, to sounds produced from a swarm of locusts that could be deafening to the listener and to the best, “a stampede of noisy elephants”.
9. A Kaizer Chiefs football club fan claims that “Saddam” invented the vuvuzela by using an aluminium version of a bicycle horn and removing the rubber piece at the mouth of the horn in 1965. Later on the fan found his vuvuzela to be short and attached a pipe to make it longer to produce an even mightier sound.
10. Ronaldo has spoken against the vuvuzelas. He said that the sound of the vuvuzelas makes it difficult for anyone to concentrate on the pitch.
11. The sounds of vuvuzela's are becoming such a pest for broadcaster’s worldwide that media giants such as BBC have put in an effort to introduce a vuvuzela free transmission because of viewer complaints.
12. The man who invented the vuvuzelas and went on to mass produce them now has a multi-dollar business on his hand. Now he is thinking about expanding his business to Europe by introducing the horns there.
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