China's gift to the world: The vuvuzela

Love them or hate them, vuvuzelas have become an indelible part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa experience. The brightly colored plastic horn is the hallmark of any football celebration around the world this month.

Although there’s debate surrounding the origins of the vuvuzela -- some say it is related to the kudu horn that was blown to summon African villagers to meetings -- there's little argument over where they’re being produced: China.

Rolling off the productions lines from some of the biggest northern Chinese factories, vuvuzelas are one of China's most direct connections to the World Cup games. Wu Yijun of Ninghai Jiying Plastics Products Factory tells the BBC that “90 percent of the vuvuzelas blown in South Africa for the World Cup are made in China.” 

Wu explains that although his company began producing the vuvuzela in 2001, they failed to market it well until this year and the 2010 World Cup came along.

In the first four months of the year, Wu says, his factories were producing over 250,000 vuvuzelas a day to prepare for the games, and are looking forward to the 2010 Asia Games and the 2012 London Olympics as their next markets. 

For those who are already sick of the booming sound that reminds people of a noice somewhere between an “elephant passing wind and a swarm of angry wasps,” it looks like vuvuzelas are not going anywhere. They can take a bit of comfort in the fact that these horns are annoying many Chinese people in the country making them, as much as fans abroad. 

A recent Youku World Cup poll asked people in China “What made the biggest impression on viewers of this year’s World Cup?”

Vuvuzelas topped the list. They don’t look like they will be remembered with much love though, as 22.5 percent of people responded that the noise was “ear splitting.” Other ways people described the sound: “A giant hive full of very angry bees” and “A goat on the way to slaughter.”

At least we’re all suffering together.