"Poum" is the classic French rendering of a cartoon pop, the written sound of a soft explosion, a cork leaving a bottle, or a comic pratfall. This one-second clip circulates on user soundboards as a meme-friendly impact, valued for being tiny, bright, and instantly readable at any volume. Editors reach for it when a gag needs a little push without turning violent: a light bonk, a sudden vanish, a caption that arrives with a wink. With no fixed source to credit, it works like punctuation for short-form comedy everywhere.