{"id":13649,"date":"2013-07-04T09:29:44","date_gmt":"2013-07-04T14:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=13649"},"modified":"2022-02-28T07:37:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T12:37:47","slug":"trouble-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/trouble-records\/","title":{"rendered":"The Trouble with Records"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I try to approach “-est<\/em>” claims skeptically. Those are ones that purport to be the largest, tallest, longest, smallest, fastest, and so on. Often I’ll use qualifiers such as likely, possibly, or supposedly, to hedge my bets even when fact-checking seems to confirm an assertion. Predictably, someone in the 12MC audience will discover a more extreme example, and frankly, that type of interaction is one of the reasons I enjoy the site so much. I learn something new every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s easier to eat crow when I can respond to a comment and say legitimately, “well, I never claimed it was absolutely<\/em> the quickest path between Mianus<\/a> and Middelfart<\/a>, just a very quick path” or whatever nonsense might be necessary to extricate myself from embarrassment. Bad things<\/a> happen when I get too cocky and make bold assertions. Qualifiers allow me to save a little face even when I know I’m dead wrong. Start a sentence with an overworked clich\u00e9 like “some say” and any crazy claim imaginable can be tossed out recklessly to the public without concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some Say<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, some say…<\/em><\/strong> that the “Famous” Star Hotel in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland is the world’s narrowest hotel. I discovered that happy declaration as I researched Little Miss Muffet<\/a> the other evening. Anyone who has read Twelve Mile Circle for even a short time already understands that I’m a sucker for exactly this kind of oddity. I once went out of my way for a large shoe<\/a>. I’d do the same for an ultra-skinny, record-shattering hotel. If I were in Scotland. Which I’m not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Moffat<\/a>
Moffat Star Hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I examined photographic evidence. It certainly looked sufficiently slender to grapple for the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hotel proudly proclaimed<\/a> that it “found its fame for being the world\u2019s narrowest hotel AS MENTIONED IN THE GUINESS [sic.] BOOK OF RECORDS. At only 20ft wide and 162ft long. The Famous Star Hotel may be narrow but it has a BIG personality.<\/em>” That’s some bold capitalization. Various sources claimed (another “some say” alert) that the width may have had something to do with taxation in the late 1700’s when the hotel was constructed; taxation based on building frontage encouraged narrow structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be easy enough to confirm using the Search Records box at the Officially Amazing Guinness World Records<\/a> website. That’s what it calls itself now — The Officially Amazing Guinness World Records. Officially. Amazing. We also need to take a logical leap that Guinness is infallible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let’s see<\/h2>\n\n\n\n