The Top 10 Everything of 2010

In 50 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of the past 12 months

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1. Vuvuzela

Vuvuzela

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

They weren't the only memorable part of the 2010 World Cup (this was the year, after all, of Paul the Psychic Octopus, may he rest in peace) but vuvuzelas dominated the international soccer event, even more than victorious Spain. The plastic horns, popular in host-nation South Africa, were persistently blown during matches, making what many fans and players considered to be an insufferable sound akin to sitting inside a beehive. "Vuvuzela" is the buzzword that actually buzzed — the noisemaker heard around the world.

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