The bah sounds first became a running joke with New Super Mario Bros on Nintendo DS in 2006, where level music included short vocal bahs and enemies would hop or dance when one played. Players began isolating the chirps, boosting the volume and reposting them as standalone meme sounds. The loud edit exaggerates that contrast between cute game music and harsh playback, which is why it still circulates in gaming edits, remixes and soundboard collections alongside other exaggerated Nintendo stings.