I sort of wonder if there's some cognitive bias in perception of record highs. I'm not sure people understand what to expect with them if climate were constant. Athletic records keep happening, for example, so I could see people expecting something similar, or at least happening at a constant rate.

And if you had enough data. There are 365 days in a year, but only 100 or so years of temperature records. So there are plenty of days that have not had their "chance" as it were to set a record for that date. (For example in my city today's high was set over 130 years ago.)

It also ignores heat islands as cities get larger.