A Pissed Off Janitor Shut Off A Storage Freezer And Wiped Out 25 Years Of Scientific Research
A janitor working in a laboratory who was annoyed by an incessant beep reportedly flipped a switch that killed the noise — but also shut off a storage freezer, destroying decades of scientific work, according to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute lab in Troy.
First of all, someone needs to tell the New York Post that it's 2023 and we do NOT use the term janitor anymore. How demeaning can you get? I'm not sure if the rest of the general public has been privy to this information, but in the public school system, we have been clearly instructed that they are sanitation professionals and deserve to be referred to by their professional name: Custodians.
Second of all, are we really buying this story? You're telling me that an important lab with 25+ years worth of scientific research inside the super cold freezer could all be shut down by a random light switch on the outside? If that's true, then the lab deserved to lose it's research. They're suing the custodial company for a million dollars due to negligence of their employee, but if I'm the judge, I think it's negligence on the part of the lab! Even though they allegedly had all of their i's dotted and t's crossed. Like, they were almost too prepared for this?
A sign on the lab freezer door explains the source of the alarm, and also had instructions on how to silence it, the Times Union reported.
“No cleaning required in this area,” the sign said. “You can can press the alarm/test mute button for 5-10 seconds if you would like to mute the sound.”
Listen I'm not saying that your average contracted out custodian company provides the sharpest tools in the shed, but I am saying that something isn't adding up here. Why is a custodian in an area that doesn't require cleaning? Why are the directions so specific and clear? And why does this beeping light switch shut down the entire project? I guess it's plausible that we really did run into the dumbest person on Earth that got so annoyed with the beeping that he just started flicking random switches (or put in headphones instead buddy?), but I think it's more likely that we've got an old fashioned conspiracy on our hands. Something was about to be discovered in that lab that the big wigs didn't want out, and a million dollar lawsuit is chump change in the grand scheme of things.
If you're buying this story, I've got a Nigerian Prince that wants to wire you a hundred million dollars if you can just send him a grand to get to the bank.