Explaining the Mpemba effect

The Mpemba effect goes back a long way; apparently, philosophers like Aristotle already knew about it, [1, 2] in ancient times. Nearer to us, Bacon and Descartes also knew of it and tried to explain it. It has been rediscovered and brought back to prominence in the modern era by a schoolboy in Tanzania, in the 60?s, [3]. It is the observation that warmer water may freeze quicker that colder water. Two things make it interesting and, to many rather irresistible: 1. It is counter-intuitive since cold water should be closer in state to frozen water (ice), than hot water; it, therefore, should freeze quicker. 2. Experiments do not show the effect every time. So, those who observed it want to explain it and those who did not, despite experimenting, think it is a hoax and want to debunk it.