Remember a world before the iPod took over and changed the way we listened to music and expanded the places where we could bring our tunes? Well, back in the dark ages (which is before 2001), we used discmans, walkmans, ghetto blasters and other portable music devices.

Now, it seems that the Apple iPod, and other kinds and brands of MP3 players are just about everywhere. The iPod, MP3 player or portable digital music player in general is an integral part of the personal entertainment package. Teenagers, with their computer saavy immediately embraced the iPod, and even adults, business professionals and other people are walking around, plugged in to their white earphones.

The iPod was once labelled as one of the most important technological advancements and inventions of our time. And when you look at its overall popularity, it's incredibly hard to disagree with that sentiment.

So, here is a small, bullet-point form of the history of the original iPod, and how it came to be as commonplace as cellphones and other small, portable and digital electronic devices.

-October 23, 2001: after a year of research, design, trial and error, the iPod is introduced to the world.

-July 17, 2002: the second generation of the original iPod is launched.

-April 28, 2003: a third and more improved version of the original iPod is released.

-July 19, 2004: iPod Photo, which can display pictures and images in launched. Shortly thereafter, on October 12, 2005, the iPod Video is released.

Now, that's a small, abbreviated history of the original iPod. That doesn't include other versions and varieties of the iPod, such as the iPod Mini, iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. Each new generation of the iPod decreases the size of the product while increasing the performance and features.

Yes, iPod, you've come a long way, baby. From a portable digital music player prototype to the world's leading MP3 player, the iPod is a pop-culture phenomenon and a technological acheivement at the same time.