Researchers say the official noisemakers for next year's World Cup soccer tournament in Brazil will be significantly quieter than the vuvuzela (voo-voo-ZEHL'-uh) horns that caused so many headaches in 2010.
The new instrument is a rattle called the caxirola (ka-SHE'-rah-luh), and it creates sound pressure levels similar to normal conversation.
Researchers from the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil said Thursday that it would take about 2,000 caxirolas to emit the same noise level as one vuvuzela.
In South Africa, throngs of fans playing vuvuzelas created a deafening roar during matches.
The incessant buzzing from the long, skinny horns was so loud that players on the field had a hard time communicating, and many TV viewers initially thought there were reception problems.
