Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Dog learning to water ski

REDINGTON SHORES, Fla., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A Florida man whose dog is locally famous for riding on the back of his motorcycle said the canine is learning to water ski.

David Williams of Redington Shores said his dog, Chibi, is famous among locals for straddling the back of his motorcycle like a human passenger, Bay News 9, St. Petersburg, reported.

"That's how she rode straight from the get go," said Williams, who found Chibi in the road about nine years ago.

Williams said it turns out Chibi also loves to swim and she was soon learning how to float atop a knee board, and then advanced to water skis.

"She loves the water," Williams said.

Teen wakeboards English Channel

RADLEY, England, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A British 17-year-old is headed for the Guinness Book of World Records after becoming the first person to wakeboard across the English Channel.

Edward Bosson, a student at England's Radley College, said he completed the 21-mile journey from Dover, England, to Cap Gris-Nez, France, in slightly more than 2 hours Sunday, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Bosson said Guinness officials told him no one has claimed a record for wakeboarding across the channel, so he is poised to take the title of fastest crossing of the English Channel on a wakeboard if the feat can be proven to the satisfaction of the recordkeeping organization.

The teenager, who fell off his board 14 times during his journey, said the feat raised more than $1,500 for the Hope and Homes for Children charity.

Man takes dinner table to 130 mph

SANTA POD, England, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A British man said he broke the world record for fastest piece of furniture by taking his motorized dinner table up to 130 mph.

Perry Watkins, 47, said his Queen Anne-style dining table, dubbed the Fast Food, reached a top speed of 130 mph and averaged 113.8 mph during a pair of runs in Santa Pod, England, The Sun reported.

Watkins, whose table was set for service during the runs, said he hoped Guinness World Records will recognize his beating the previous record, which was set by a sofa traveling 92 mph in 2007.

The designer said his table runs on the engine of a 1994 Reliant Scimitar Sabre with a nitrous oxide booster kit.

Clinic gets von Furstenberg gowns

CLEVELAND, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Diane von Furstenberg, the designer famous for her wrap dress, has undertaken a stiff challenge, a new hospital gown for the Cleveland Clinic.

The design bears a strong resemblance to von Furstenberg's signature design, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. It wraps and has a bold print, which includes the Cleveland Clinic logo.

While von Furstenberg worked on the print, Jeanne Ryan, a longtime nurse and clinic liaison, worked with a designer and fabric technician on the details.

Ryan said there were some surprising problems, with most patients reporting being too warm in the hospital. So she and the von Furstenberg employees had to find lightweight fabric that would not come apart with repeated heavy washing and with colors that do not run.

The gown is undergoing a second trial at the clinic after being sent back to the drawing board because the snaps did not stay snapped.