• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Angry janitor turns off super-cold freezer destroying decades of scientific work

Home> News

Published 10:23 26 Jun 2023 GMT+1

Angry janitor turns off super-cold freezer destroying decades of scientific work

Wanting some peace and quiet, the janitor switched off a freezer filled with decades of scientific work

Jess Battison

Jess Battison

An angry janitor allegedly turned off a lab’s super-cold freezer and absolutely destroyed decades of scientific work.

The laboratory at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, Michigan, endured one hell of a nightmare recently thanks to the janitor, resulting in the university taking a lawsuit out against the cleaning service company.

If we’re honest, it would sound like a pretty funny story if so much important work hadn’t been completely lost.

The nightmare began back in September 2020 when the janitor in question was getting annoyed by a constant beeping noise while they were doing their work. And that’s quite relatable really.

Advert

So to get some relief, the cleaner reportedly flipped a switch to free themselves of the jarring noise - but without realising, they also turned off an entire storage freezer containing decades of work.

The scientific work could have furthered development of solar panels.
Pexels

The Times Union reported that the turned-off freezer had stored cell cultures, samples and other elements at a freezing minus-112 degrees Fahrenheit.

The lab had been doing the research focusing on photosynethesis, with the hopes to use the findings to further the development of solar panels.

Advert

When the third-party cleaner switched off the circuit breaker in the hope of some peace and quiet, the temperature rocketed up to minus-25.6 degrees. Still cold, of course, but not cold enough for the samples.

This alleged act has cost the lab at the university at least $1million in damages, according to a lawsuit they’ve filed against Daigle Cleaning Services.

The reason the alarm was going off in the first place is because of a mechanical function stopping the storage unit from maintaining a constant temperature. So repairs were already scheduled for a few days later.

There was also a sign explaining this on the freezer door, reading: “No cleaning required in this area. You can press the alarm/test mute button for 5-10 seconds if you would like to mute the sound.”

Advert

The work was being done in a lab at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

RPI’s attorney Michael Ginsberg told the Times Union: “People’s behaviour and negligence caused all this. Unfortunately, they wiped out 25 years of research.”

The public safety staff reported afterward that the cleaner actually thought they were flipping the breaker on, not off.

Ginsberg said it would cost an estimated $1 million to replicate the lost work.

Advert

The lawsuit said: "A majority of specimens were compromised, destroyed and rendered unsalvageable demolishing more than 20 years of research."

Daigel Cleaning Services had a $1.4 million contract to clean the RPI facilities in the 2020 fall semester when this science tragedy occurred.

Featured Image Credit: Pexels / Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Topics: Science, US News

Jess Battison
Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

X

@jessbattison_

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

13 mins ago
an hour ago
  • Facebook
    13 mins ago

    Prosecutors reveal chilling messages Charlie Kirk’s murder suspect sent to his roommate following assassination

    Tyler Robinson has been charged with the murder of Charlie Kirk

    News
  • Kevin Dietsch/Getty
    an hour ago

    Staggering new findings show Trump’s approval ratings compared to past presidents

    Donald Trump’s ratings slump against historic averages

    News
  • Anna Moneymaker/Getty
    an hour ago

    President Zelenskyy makes very clear demand to Trump after he shared bold plans to end the war

    President Zelenskyy has asked for clear demands from Donald Trump

    News
  • FBI
    an hour ago

    Charlie Kirk’s murder suspect Tyler Robinson receives seven charges following assassination

    The 22-year-old Utah native has been charged after Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a college event last week

    News
  • Scientists reveal new eye test that could predict dementia decades early
  • How NASA would use 'drastic' solution to knock 'city-destroying' asteroid off course before it hits Earth
  • Doctor reveals surprising truth of common belief that you can ‘catch a cold by being cold’
  • Scientists reveal the most populated cities at risk of 'city-destroying' asteroid that could hit Earth in seven years