By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — The buzzing sound of vuvuzela horns has become synonymous with television coverage of the World Cup in South Africa.
Some people love them, others hate them, but there is one thing New Yorkers can agree on.
“It’s the hot thing,” said Tony Giacobbe, 43, of Staten Island. “Everybody’s talking about them.”
But finding them in the Big Apple is no easy task.
"We didn't think we could even find it in New York City," said Giacobbe, who was in Midtown to buy one for his son's soccer coach.
ESPN is selling the African-based horns in Manhattan throughout this week on their “soccer truck,” a mobile kitchen and store that sells world cuisine, World Cup memorabilia and shows the games as well.
As the US took on Algeria Wednesday, fans stopped by the truck parked at East 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue to give a toot on the horn, and even to buy a few.
One enthusiast said that he plans to give a horn to his 19-year-old son as a present, but knows the toy will get mixed reviews.
“I’m tellin’ ya, I think he’ll walk around school and blow it and make people happy and unhappy, at the same time,” said John Steward, 53, of Manhattan.
While many think the horns are fun, others have posted blogs to list their complaints about the plastic instrument — namely, the deafening decibel level its noise produces.
At 127dB, the horn can actually be dangerous for periods longer than 15 minutes, a South African Medical Journal study shows. A whisper can be as little as 10 dB, and thunder booms at 108 dB.
Noisy or not, they are all the rage. The vuvuzela now has its own Facebook fan page, which members continually update with posts of “zzzzzzz.”
It also has a Twitter following and several iPhone apps — making the earsplitting sound only a touch away.
The ESPN "soccer truck" cashed in on the vuvuzela’s popularity Wednesday, selling more than 15 horns at $15 a pop within two hours. Online, the horns go for as little as $2.
