January 10th: National & International Days, Celebrations and Observances

Things to Do This January 10

Local eagle watchers need more helping hands this season. If you're on social media, spread the word about recovery work in your area - even a quick post helps. Know any good viewing spots nearby? Most programs welcome new spotters (no experience needed).

The cold weather has everyone indoors lately. Perfect time to rescue those neglected houseplants. Wipe off dusty leaves, poke around in the soil to check moisture, or move them if they're stretching for light. Those drafty windows driving up your heating bill? A quick seal job works wonders.

Grab some herb pots for your sunniest windowsill - nothing beats fresh basil in winter cooking. When those old bulbs burn out, go for LEDs. The power bill difference adds up fast.

That pothos getting too long? Cut a few stems and trade with the neighbors. Oh, and it's Peculiar People Day - so maybe wear those weird socks while you're at it.

Environmental policy took shape through decades of oil industry shifts and diplomatic moves.

• Rockefeller's Standard Oil started small in Cleveland, 1870. Within ten years, his company controlled nearly every refinery in America - a staggering 90% market share. The courts finally acted in 1911, splitting this powerhouse apart. Modern giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron emerged from the breakup.
• The Spindletop gusher changed everything one cold morning in 1901. Oil erupted above the Beaumont treeline, soaring 150 feet high. As workers fought to control the 100,000-barrel daily output, land prices exploded. A ten-dollar acre of Texas farmland suddenly cost fifty thousand. Two oil companies we know well today - Texaco and Gulf Oil - got their start in this chaos.
• Fifty-one nations sent delegates to London for the first UN General Assembly, while the world was still sorting through post-war challenges. Their immediate focus: getting the Atomic Energy Commission up and running.
• Years of discussion and debate followed. The UN Environment Programme took shape in 1972, as countries faced growing concerns about industrial impact. Not perfect, but a start toward tackling worldwide environmental issues.

January 10th saw the births of scientists who altered their fields.

• In 1780, Berlin physician Martin Lichtenstein took charge of the city's Zoological Museum, later building its famous zoo. His detailed studies of African wildlife live on - scientists still reference the sandgrouse and hartebeest species he documented.
• Katharine Burr Blodgett (1898-1979) reshaped physics research in the early 1900s. No woman had earned a Cambridge physics Ph.D. before her. Her innovations with non-reflective glass led to better solar technology and modern environmental monitoring devices.
• Nobel winner Sune Bergström (1916-2004) spent decades studying prostaglandins in his Swedish lab. His research revealed why stress affects sea creatures and other living things in specific ways. These findings helped scientists understand complex ecosystem reactions.
• Robert Woodrow Wilson (1936-) made an unexpected discovery that won him the Nobel Prize. While studying space radiation, he detected cosmic microwave signals that changed astronomy. Weather scientists now use his methods to measure temperature changes worldwide.