Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Guide dog loses eyes, keeps active

STOWMARKET, England, March 11 (UPI) -- A British man said his guide dog was forced into retirement by the removal of both its eyes but remains active and a popular fixture in town.

Graham Waspe, 60, of Stowmarket, England, and his wife, Sandra, said they were devastated when Edward -- a guide dog they received four years ago to help Graham Waspe, who only has limited use of a single eye -- developed inoperable cataracts last summer and veterinarians had to remove both of its eyes, the East Anglican Daily Times reported Thursday.

"We were both devastated and cried buckets on the night they told us they were going to remove his first eye. Graham said then 'do you think he will ever be happy again?' and then they said they would have to remove the second eye," Sandra Waspe said. "He is still very popular -- just as much, if not more than before. People ask lots of questions about how he copes and he is probably more famous now because even more people stop to talk to him."

The couple said Graham and Edward now get around town with the help of Opal, a guide dog they obtained shortly after Edward's retirement.

"We got Opal on November 12 and she started training with Graham on the 16th and they were qualified in early December," Sandra Waspe said.

22-inch boy poised to be smallest man

DIPOLOG CITY, Philippines, March 11 (UPI) -- A 17-year-old Filipino boy measuring only 22 inches tall is expected to become the world's smallest man in on his June 12 birthday, his family said.

The family of Junrey Balawing of the Zamboanga del Norte province, who will qualify for the Guinness World Record when he turns 18, said the teenager has limited walking ability and can't stand up for very long, but he is proud of his record-setting size, The Sun newspaper in London reported Thursday.

"He loves it when I tell him he's the smallest man in the world, he just smiles with pride," said his mother, Concepcion Balawing.

"If I were the smallest man in the world, it would be very cool," Junrey said.

A Guinness World Records spokesman said the organization is aware of Balawing.

"We are looking to review the claim when Junrey Balawing turns 18, which is when candidates for this title can officially apply for the record," the spokesman said.

The title of world's smallest man is currently held by Khagendra Thapa Magar of Nepal, who stands at 26.4 inches tall.

Women with camcorder nab conman lover

PLYMOUTH, England, March 11 (UPI) -- A British man who conned four women into being his lover was exposed when the women found each other online and confronted him on videotape, authorities said.

Simon Reid, 44, of Plymouth, who swindled two of the women out of more than $28,000, was jailed for 30 months by a Plymouth Crown Court judge after admitting to two charges of fraud.

"You told lies Baron von Munchausen would have been proud of," Judge Kevin De Haan told Reid.

Munchausen was an 18th century German nobleman notorious for telling outrageously far-fetched stories about his adventures after joining the Russian military. His feats, as retold by others, included riding cannonballs, traveling to the moon and escaping from a swamp by pulling himself up by his own hair -- or bootstraps, depending on who told the story.

In Reid's case, he spun different stories about himself. He told one woman he was an international businessman, another he was a professional rock climber, a third that his father was terminally ill and a fourth that his son was a Royal Air Force pilot who'd lost three limbs in Afghanistan, The Sun reported.

He was nabbed after suspicious victim Nicola Hillary, 51, searched his name online and found a blog by an ex-girlfriend in the United States, The Sun reported.

It listed his cheating and warned others not to fall for him.

Hillary was then contacted by three other victims -- Jo Ward, from whom Reid stole $27,000; Laura Buckingham, who Reid took for more than $1,600 from to furnish his apartment, and a third woman identified only as June.

They all met in a pub and hatched a plot to trap him, the newspaper said. Reid was lured to Buckingham's house while the others hid upstairs.

One by one they came down to confront him -- all on camcorder -- before calling police, The Sun said.

When they leaped out with the video camera, Reid said: "I think you better call the police," The Mirror reported.

"He just sat there like a trapped animal," Hillary said.

Himmler's crystal skull found in Germany

BERLIN, March 11 (UPI) -- A Swiss journalist said a crystal skull believed to have belonged to Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler was found hidden in a German home.

Journalist Luc Burgin said the skull, found hidden on a roof beam in the home of a woman who was once married to a high-ranking SS officer, appears to be one of a series of skulls revered by the Mayans in ancient Mexico, The Daily Mirror reported Thursday.

Himmler, who committed suicide after being captured by British troops during World War II, was known to have been fascinated by myths and legends during his tenure as one of the highest ranking Nazis under Adolf Hitler.

Burgin said the skull, which weighs about 20 pounds, is similar in appearance to the death's head on the uniforms of Himmler's men.

"I am 99 percent sure that this is one of the skulls of the Mayans, but we need clarity and all available tests will be carried out to ascertain authenticity," Burgin said.