Janitor's Action Destroys Decades of Scientific Work in Freezer Shutdown.

A janitor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute lab in Troy, New York, shut off a super-cold freezer containing decades of scientific research, causing over $1 million in damages, because he was "annoyed" by a beeping sound. The freezer held cell structures, samples, and other elements stored at minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit, but the temperature rose to minus 25.6 degrees when the freezer was shut off, damaging the material. The university is now seeking $1 million in damages in a lawsuit against the third-party cleaning service charges.