The boing is one of the oldest cartoon spring effects, used for decades to exaggerate jumps, bounces and elastic movement in animation. Playing it backwards became a separate meme edit staple once short-form video editors started reversing clips for comic effect. The reversed version signals a rewind rather than a launch, so viewers instantly read it as something going wrong and being pulled back. It remains common on soundboards alongside other short gag effects like the buzzer and goofy ahh sounds, which are used in similar quick punchline edits.