A worker in a factory earns $10 an hour. The worker works 10 hours a day for 10 days straight before a vacation. How much money did the worker earn before going on vacation?

The worker earns $10 an hour and works 10 hours a day, so the worker earns $10 * 10 = $<<10*10=100>>100 per day.

The worker works 10 hours a day for 10 days straight, so the worker earns $100 * 10 = $<<100*10=1000>>1000 before going on vacation. Answer: \boxed{1000}.

So would that be 10^10?

No, the calculation is not 10^10. The worker earns $10 per hour and works 10 hours a day for 10 days. Therefore, the calculation is: $10/hour * 10 hours/day * 10 days = $10,000. So, the worker earns $10,000 before going on vacation.