Before iPods, Containers Were The Box That Changed The World

Many of the things we do today, would've never been thought of just a few short years ago. Innovations like the iPod are well known for changing the world. The iPod's technological innovations for example, stunned us all when it was released. At that time it made monumental changes that we now take for granted. How? "A thousand songs in your pocket." That notion was a big deal when Apple released the iPod. A simple concept that brought on changes to some of the world's biggest industries. It changed music. It changed clothing. It even changed one of the world's oldest form of communication.

You might not think of a steel box as innovative part of the world's commerce but you'd be wrong. In fact it's one of the most important things to happen in our history. In 1956 the shipping container did the exact same thing the iPod did. It revolutionized every industry in the world by removing geographical boundaries. Until then, goods were handled piece by piece and sending or receiving those goods could take several months. Sending things to another part of the world was practically impossible. With the same concept of the iPod, the shipping container packed all the things we wanted into one box that could be transported anywhere. And just like the iPod, its simplicity not only made it a good investment, but it was also its biggest strength.

Your children probably look at the iPod and think "so what, it's just a bunch of songs crammed in a box." But we know it's much more than that. It's a complicated series of intelligence that allows us the luxury of transporting the things we love efficiently. The same is true for the shipping container. What you see on the surface is just that, the surface. What goes on behind closed doors would actually amaze you. Just like the devices we now use to call our loved one's, get today's news and listen to our favorite tunes.

An estimated 200,000 cargo ships were in commission as of 2011. Any of which can haul about 14,000 containers at a time. That's about 1.8 billion iPads that can be hauled by just one ship. In one single shipping container you might see more than 40 tons being transported to every corner of the world, in a single trip. The containers carry everything we use in our daily lives, from T-shirts to T.V.'s and everything between. And, although we can expect that as time goes by and technology improves we will see more innovations from the shipping industry, one thing is likely to remain constant ... the ever-increasing need for shipping containers.