The issue of "hot water freezing faster" can be resolved by an experiment.
Put a glass of 50 C water into a freezer and measure the time it takes
Put a glass of 30 C water into a freezer and measure the time it takes
to reach the temperature of -1 C, for example. Then do the same with
5 C wate, under identical conditions. A CBL thermistor could be used to
monitor the temperature from outside. My prediction is that it will take
longer when the initial temperature is higher. But I am ready to rething
to rethink this if the experiments show I am wrong.