The New York Stock Exchange

Sometimes, the business report on the nightly news can sound like it's being given in a foreign language. Ask someone on the street if they've checked the EDGAR data for the Google IPO, and you'll likely get a blank stare.

IPOs are a very important aspect of the U.S. (and world) economy, and they've been around since the late 18th century. In fact, every company with stocks that are publicly traded on the stock market had an IPO at one point.

In this article, we'll find out what an IPO is, why companies have them, and how people and companies make money with them.