Oh, I know that. From the perspective of someone who started with SQL Server way back in 91 it's completely clear. But for the less experienced it can certainly appear...

I got it right because I knew it, but I understand why that might not be obvious, and the behaviour is slightly iffy.

If you do

SELECT @var = MAX(object_id)

FROM...

This used to be true, and I have often used this knowledge to optimise slow-running queries. But since SQL 2005 it no longer matters from a performance point of view....