For those who can't get enough of Apple Lore...
http://www.wired.com/news/columns/cultofmac/0,71956-0.html?tw=rss.index
Although I think this is probably not true:
"Given the device's parts, the iPod's final shape was obvious. All
the pieces sandwiched naturally together into a thin box about the
size of a pack of cards.
"Sometimes things are really clear from the materials they are made
from, and this was one of those times," said Rubinstein.