Every once and a while I get a great tip-off for stories in New Zealand’s best loved gadget prOn rag (Tone Mag!) and today I can proudly say that I’ve received the best tip to date. It turns out that alongside other kiwi greats such as splitting the atom, the first powered, manned flight (Richard Pearse NOT those Wright brother pretenders!!), one innovative kiwi was a whopping great half century ahead of the pack and invented the iPod way waaaaay back in the early 1950′s.

Tucked away in the national library lies sensational photographic evidence of this engineering feat which clearly shows one R Hereford, a Victoria University student wearing a hat upon which a shiny white gadget sits (okay so he didnt quite get the concept of iPod holders or silicon protective acessory cases) complete with white on white ear buds.

The photo was taken in November 22 1950, is an astonishing 51 years before the pretender to the iPod throne (Apple) claimed to have invented it (they launched their copy-cat product on October 23, 2001). If you’re in any doubts as to the authenticity of this claim or suspect the foul doings of an Apple employee with far to many photoshop skills, pop on over to the national library photo archive (http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=56966&l=en)  and check out the photographic evidence for yourself .