The sound began in 1997 when Swedish sound designer Daniel Malmedahl recorded himself imitating a two-stroke engine, and the audio spread online in the early 2000s. Animator Erik Wernquist paired it with a blue animated character known first as The Annoying Thing, before the character was rebranded as Crazy Frog for ringtones and the 2005 hit Axel F. Its ringtone fame made the ding riff instantly recognisable, and meme creators still reuse it as shorthand for hyperactive, irritating energy.