Here’s a weird one for you. Sony has just filed a patent on liquid airbags for electronics. The sacs of fluid are designed to protect cell phones and similar devices from nasty drops, spills, and other environmental bad things. Other companies may develop devices that are designed to survive some rather substantial drops, but Sony is going to go about it in a completely different way.

I can’t imagine how you’d access your device — be it a digital camera, PDA, or portable hard drive — with a fluid-filled bag wrapping around the whole thing. The liquid is supposed to act “as a precautionary cushion in case of impact or shock.”

So, instead of carrying around your sleek new phone, you get to carry a sleek new phone with a giant waterbed wrapped around it. Great idea, Sony. Great idea.