stop the noise
Listen up World Cup: More reasons to ban the vuvuzela
Our campaign to ban the vuvuzela is getting results.
Because of the international outcry over the buzzing sounds emitted by the plastic horn at World Cup games, officials are mulling over whether to ban the instruments.
"We have asked for no vuvuzelas during national anthems or during stadium announcements," World Cup organizing committee head Danny Jordan told AFP. "I know it's a difficult question," he added, saying that "we're trying to manage the best we can."
Jordan told the BBC he is also considering the option of banning the trumpets.
Here are several more reasons we found to ban the vuvuzela:
A London doctor studied eight healthy volunteers who blew the vuvuzela in order to measure what comes out at the other end. He found that tiny droplets which can carry flu and cold germs were formed at the bottom of the instrument. Those particles are small enough to stay suspended in the air for hours, and can enter into the airways of a person's lungs.
A study at University of Pretoria found that vuvuzelas can have negative effects on people's ear drums when they are exposed to the sound for over a prolonged time period. The solution: Wear earplugs to the game. So it's no wonder that South African stores are reporting they have sold out of earplugs.
3. And it leads to bruised lips
A lot of people are reporting that constant use of the vuvuzela leads to sore lips. "But the atmosphere is so awesome here, I can't stop," medical student Mohamed Yusuf told an Indian publication.
"I am learning to blow it," flustered American Joy-Lee Simpson told one publication before Saturday's U.S-England match."It makes a terrible noise, but people here like it, I guess once I master it I will like the noise."
Several Facebook pages have cropped up to lead the charge to ban the vuvuzela. One CultureMapper sent us this link. Another Facebook user is trying to get one million people to protest the vuvuzela.
