Salem Gathers Hundreds in Witch Hats for World Record Attempt; Perth Points Out It Has Had That Many Pointy Cones Since 2019
City of Perth 'happy to lend Massachusetts a few thousand traffic cones if it wants to make a proper go of it'.
Derby Wharf, Salem, scene of the hat gathering, photographed on a quieter day. Photo: Mjgus, “Derby Wharf Light Station, Derby Wharf, Salem, MA”, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
PERTH — The town of Salem, Massachusetts, marked its 400th anniversary at the weekend by gathering hundreds of people in pointed witch hats on Derby Wharf in an attempt at a world record, prompting Perth officials to note that the city has been hosting a much larger gathering of pointy orange headwear on its roads “for years, without anyone ringing Guinness.”
“With respect to Salem, a few hundred pointed hats is a quiet Tuesday on York Place,” said a spokesperson for the Perthshire Cone Collective. “We have cones on Caledonian Road that have been standing in formation since the city status celebrations. If Salem would like a proper record, they’re very welcome to borrow some. We’ll never notice they’re gone. Nobody’s ever noticed when any of them are gone.”
Organisers in Salem handed out a thousand free hats before the gathering, and Guinness had not confirmed whether a record had been set. Perth residents said they understood. “You never know how many there are,” said one Craigie man. “I counted the cones on Dunkeld Road once. I got to 400 and then they put out more.”
Perth’s own anniversary plans are now under discussion, including a proposal for “Cones on the Inch”, in which every traffic cone in the city would gather on the North Inch for a single aerial photograph. “Logistically it’s a big ask,” admitted a council source. “If we take them all off the roads at once, people might be able to drive somewhere. We can’t risk that.”
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