The Nexus S on the other hand was indestructible. I dropped it multiple times even of hard services.

Once I was climbing on some rocks, tried to send a text (yeah, I realize that was dumb), lost balance and ended up slamming the phone screen first on the rock supporting my weight with it. There is a 1/4 sandgrain width dent in the middle of the screen, barely noticeable unless you're looking for it in just the right light. As I said pretty indestructible for me.

I had the same experience with the Galaxy Nexus. I literally threw it onto the road....twice. Both events happened while running with the phone in my hand. The first time I threw it downwards at speed, the second time I launched it about 10 feet in front of me. The back and corners took some dents and chips, but no significant damage.

I've not been particularly fond of LG hardware since a friend had an LG device spontaneously catch fire.

I sometimes intentionally drop mine, to show people how a phone can be. I happen to have the version with the plastic screen though, so it's no where near as brittle as glass (but scratches incredibly easily).

Mine has broken its screen after half a meter fall on a carpet.

Am I crazy to think that maybe Google designed it this way?

Yes. It's extremely unlikely that the margin on repairs would offset the loss of sales from an easily breakable phone, not to mention the impact of a poor reputation on sales of future versions.

That they designed it specifically to get extra revenue through repairs or replacements on what is, by most accounts, essentially a margin-free device? Yes, very crazy.

But it's fair to say that the designers had different priorities (primarily aesthetic ones - weight, thinness) which mean the device is more breakable than it could be. The iPhone is the same.