Whenever you watch a Netflix original movie or TV show, there’s that signature sound that plays when the steaming service’s logo appears. The recognizable sound is known in Netflix’s offices as “Ta Dum,” but it was almost something that would have been easier to describe and a lot more odd. Todd Yellin, Netflix’s VP of Product, recently revealed that one of the options considered for Netflix’s production logo was the bleating of a goat.

While appearing on the podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz (via The Hollywood Reporter), Todd Yellin explained that there was a shortlist of possible sound options to go along with their logo. While using the bleating of a goat may sound totally random, Yellin says it was seriously considered because it felt like a riff on another famous production logo. He said:

“I liked the sound of the goat. It was funny, quirky and our version of [MGM’s] Leo the Lion.”

Oscar-winning sound designer Lon Bender compiled a shortlist of various sounds that could have been used. The only other specific option that was mentioned was underwater bubbles, which feels too generic.

As for where the “Ta Dum” came from, Bender apparently rapped his wedding ring on his nightstand to make the sound. The reverberation of the sound is actually a guitar chord playing backward referred to as “The Blossom.”

Somehow, the “Ta Dum” just works perfectly as a sound to represent a brand. When focus groups were conducted, people though it sounded dramatic or that it represented something beginning. Without knowing this was a survey being conducted for Netflix, they thought it could easily play at the beginning of a movie. Honestly, it probably could have worked for any product, service or brand, but now it’s forever tied to Netflix, just like the “dun-dun” of Law & Order or the ticking clock of 60 Minutes.

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