While there can be a legitimate question over whether the fastest time that a person has ever run the hundred meter hurdles while wearing swimming fins (14.82 seconds) really deserves to be remembered, certainly a few record attempts at least fall into the category of history stranger than fiction.
The first class of nuclear submarines were a learning experience for the Soviet Navy. The November class boats experienced numerous difficulties and accidents, culminating in what has been described as a potential “Underwater Chernobyl."