Bheestie...strange name, good idea

Have you ever dropped your cell phone in the toilet? No? Neither have I.

How about an iPod in a stream while salmon fishing? You haven't? Hmm, well, neither have I.

But, I know others who have. In fact, even close family members of mine have been known to drop my cell phone in the river at the boat dock. No, I'm not bitter if it sounds like I am.

In our family, when misfortune like this strikes, we just open up a gallon sized zipper-locking food storage bag and fill it with a cup or two of uncooked rice. Then, we gently lay to rest our water-sogged electronic device and leave overnight. Voila! It often does the trick.

Well, here's a product that perhaps better solves the pain of the "water in my expensive, yet delicate electronic gadget" problem. As the story goes, two sisters have created Bheestie Bag, a new product that has, in a few short months, already gained the strong recommendation from some early adopters. Karen Wildman and Lisa Holmes created this product in 2009 after experiencing a few too many "accidents" involving liquid and electronics.

According to their marketing materials, the Bheestie uses "powerful water absorbing beads that physically bond with the water, holding it inside of them" to dry out all sorts of electronic devices. The smallish bag is large enough to hold mp3 devices, cell phones, digital cameras, but is not likely to stand up to the dimensions of the recently-announced Apple iPad.

I applaud the sisters for their tenacity as evidenced by their timeline from initial product idea in 2003 to market penetration via REI and online outlets in 2009. Well done, sisters!