Is a dead shark in a tank really worth millions of dollars? Art, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder—but Damien Hirst’s infamous 1991 work, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, fetched a reported $12 million for reasons aside from its creative merit. In the video above, Vox breaks down the economics behind high-profile art market sales, and explains why an art dealer’s reputation is sometimes just as important (if not more so) than a work’s creator.

[h/t Vox]

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We’re all constantly bombarded with health advice, from advertisements to Facebook postings to warnings from Grandma. Unfortunately, much of that advice is unreliable, unproven, and downright harmful. It can be very hard to separate medical fact from fiction, but that’s exactly what scientists are teaching elementary-school kids in Uganda to do.

Andy Oxman is research director at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He’s been working in Uganda since 2012 on the Supporting the Use of Research Evidence (SURE) program, which aims to improve both access to health care and patients’ ability to make better-informed health decisions. The program brought Oxman into conversations with politicians, who struggled with the same fact-or-fiction issues as the rest of us. But educating them was an uphill battle.

“Working with policymakers made it clear most adults don’t have time to learn, and they have to unlearn a lot of stuff.” But kids, he thought—kids might catch on pretty quickly, Oxman told Vox.

The best-known primer on evidence-based health education is a book called Testing Treatments (available for free here [PDF]). The book breaks down the basics of scientific literacy and teaches readers to cast a careful eye at health claims and medical research. “You don’t need to be a scientist to think critically and ask good questions,” co-author Iain Chalmers told Vox.

After the latest edition of the book came out in 2012, Oxman approached Chalmers with his big idea: to teach its contents to children. “You’re mad,” Chalmers said. But Oxman was serious. Why shouldn’t kids be given the tools to evaluate what they’re told?

Oxman and Chalmers enlisted other scientists from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Norway, and the UK to help identify the most important lessons a health literacy program should teach when considering the value of different medical treatments. They arrived at a list of 32 concepts, highlighting the need to be wary of things like small clinical trials, dramatic results, and a bias toward newer or more expensive treatments.

Next, they collaborated with schoolteachers in Uganda to translate those concepts into lesson plans, a teacher guide, and workbooks and readings illustrated with cartoons.

Because evidence and data are kind of their thing, the researchers decided to test the program’s efficacy as they implemented it. They set up a randomized controlled trial (the gold standard for scientific studies) involving more than 15,000 fifth-graders. From June to September of one school year, half of the students trained in BS detection, while the others went about their education as usual.

When the school term ended, the researchers tested all the kids to see if they’d become savvier consumers of health information. They’re currently crunching the numbers, but expect to find that their program did the students some good.

“My hope,” Oxman told Vox, “is that these resources get used in curricula in schools around the world, and that we end up with the children … who become science-literate citizens and who can participate in sensible discussion about policy and our health.”

[h/t Vox]

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In the Mojave Desert you’ll find California City, a city famous for dreaming big. A huge chunk of it is gridded roads—complete with names, speed limits, and GPS driving directions—with nothing built on the vast majority of those plots.

Incorporated in 1965, California City is a living contradiction. Today it’s a working community with roughly 15,000 residents. But it’s simultaneously enormous, having been planned at a scale to rival Los Angeles. The city has over 200 square miles of land, planned by Nat Mendelsohn as a model city.

In this mini-documentary, Tom Scott visits California City and interviews various city officials. He digs into the city’s storied past, and shows us both what is there and what is not. The city is physically enormous, so it’s certainly possible that one day it will grow to meet its original plan. It might just take a few centuries.

Have a look at the third-largest city in California (by land area, anyway):

Related is this behind-the-scenes video in which Scott explains why he’s interested in California City:

Even the Peruvian Amazon isn’t safe from politics during an election cycle. Earlier this fall, while on a jungle excursion, nature shutterbug Jeff Cremer photographed a furry yellow critter perched on a tree branch. Scientists call it the Megalopyge opercularis, or the flannel moth caterpillar—but since the insect’s gravity-defying neon hair bears a striking resemblance to Donald Trump’s notorious coif, Cremer re-christened it the Donald Trump caterpillar.

In some ways, the Amazon jungle and the Washington, D.C. political scene are a lot alike. But unlike politicians, animals typically don’t want to attract attention, since they want to avoid predators. In the video below, PBS “It’s Okay to Be Smart” host Jon Hanson explains how the Trump caterpillar’s garish fuzz actually scares other critters away—and why other organisms have evolved to mimic its appearance.

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Here’s a riddle. Ten band members have had their musical instruments placed randomly in boxes. Each band member gets five shots at opening boxes, trying to find their own instrument. (Thus, a 50% chance of each individual finding the desired instrument.) They’re not allowed to communicate about what they find. If the entire band fails to find their instruments, they’re all fired…and the odds of them all finding their instruments via random guessing is 1 in 1,024. But the drummer has an idea that will radically increase their odds of success. What’s the big idea?

This puzzle is based on the 100 Prisoners Problem, though it has been simplified just a bit, and lightened up to be about a band (in the original 100 Prisoners Problem scenario, the punishment is death rather than loss of a job). Here’s what the TED-Ed video gives us as the rules:

1. Instruments have been randomly placed in 10 boxes.

2. The pictures on the boxes don’t necessarily correspond to the instruments inside.

3. Each musician can open up to 5 boxes. They have to close all of the boxes they open.

4. All 10 musicians must find their own instruments.

5. The musicians can’t in any way communicate to each other what they find.

Given all this, it seems rather hopeless. But think on it. What could you do if you talked it through beforehand, as this puzzle allows? Watch this video for the setup, and then pause it when it tells you to, in order to have a good long think. I’d like to think I could come up with a solution like this, were my band (or band of prisoners) in a similar situation. Enjoy:

For more on the original 100 Prisoners Problem, check out this nice writeup. There’s also more info from TED-Ed (check the “Dig Deeper” bit for useful links).

While you’re probably familiar with upcoming presidential debate co-anchor Anderson Cooper, you may not know as much about his October 9 broadcast partner, Martha Raddatz, an ABC News veteran who seems eager to press both candidates on issues that went unexplored during their first face-off in September.

Before the fireworks start, we’ve unpacked some facts about Raddatz, from her seat on a bombing mission to being mortified at a very un-presidential ringtone going off in the White House briefing room.

1. SHE WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH ROSEANNE BARR.

Born in Idaho Falls, Idaho in 1953, Martha Raddatz attended East Lake High in Salt Lake City, Utah and attended class with Roseanne Barr. While Raddatz earned her diploma in 1971, Barr opted out of further education to pursue a career in comedy.

2. SHE’S A COLLEGE DROPOUT.

(Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Raddatz attended the University of Utah near her childhood home in Salt Lake without much of an idea of what she wanted to do for a living. When a job position opened up at nearby television affiliate KTVX, Raddatz opted to drop out of college during her senior year. While she later described the decision as “stupid,” Raddatz was able to move up from menial tasks to shooting her own stories, eventually becoming an on-camera presence by the age of 24.

3. SHE’S BEEN TO IRAQ MORE THAN 20 TIMES.

Raddatz worked her way up to positions at an ABC affiliate in Boston and at National Public Radio before becoming ABC’s chief White House correspondent in 2005. Uncomfortable remaining in the press corps in Washington, Raddatz insisted on traveling to Iraq multiple times in order to gain a better understanding of how the war was affecting the area. Military officials cited her determination to return to those troubled hot spots as one reason they respected her reporting; Raddatz later compiled some of her experiences in Iraq into a book, The Long Road Home.

4. SHE TOOK PART IN A BOMB-DROPPING MISSION.

Eager to experience the rigors of combat firsthand, Raddatz spent years trying to convince the U.S. military to allow her to fly along on a bombing raid. She finally got her wish: Raddatz was inside an F-15E when it was loaded with explosive devices weighing more than 500 pounds each.

5. BUT THAT WASN’T THE MOST DANGEROUS THING.

Crossing a river in Jalalabad near Afghanistan, Raddatz hitched a ride on a makeshift inflatable raft steered by an eight-year-old local. It was the only path that would get her near an area that was once home to Osama bin Laden.

6. SHE TOLD HER SON ONE OF HISTORY’S BIGGEST SECRETS.

Raddatz’s globetrotting has had one undesirable side effect: it has proven worrisome to her kids, including her son Jake, who grew concerned for her mother’s safety whenever she was about to travel. In 2011, Raddatz was headed for Kabul when she received word that the U.S. government had located and killed Osama bin Laden. Calling Jake to tell him she wouldn’t be making the trip, she then had to tell him why: he was sworn to secrecy until the president announced it on television later that day.

7. SHE USED CHAMILLIONAIRE’S “RIDIN’ DIRTY” AS A RINGTONE.

During her time as a White House correspondent, Raddatz often had trouble hearing incoming calls or messages on her cell phone—press gatherings are frequently busy, crowded, and noisy. To allow her to acknowledge important incoming calls, she asked Jake to program a loud ringtone into her cell. He chose Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’ Dirty.” In a 2007 White House briefing, it went off in her purse, and she had to scramble to turn it off.

When Chamillionaire heard the story, he was pleased, “Can’t lie,” he tweeted. “That just made my night. Appreciate it. @MarthaRaddatz Keep it gangsta.”

From Sacramento to Los Angeles, Spain’s colonial fingerprints are plain to see throughout present-day California. But did you know that in the 18th century, Tsarist Russia carved out her own slice of this future state?

Grigory Shelikhov (1747-1795) has been ignored by countless history textbooks. In 1784, this adventurous fur merchant established the Three Saints Bay Colony, Russia’s first permanent North American settlement, on Kodiak Island in Alaska. Back then, Russia held high hopes for eastward expansion, seeing Three Saints Bay Colony as the first step towards converting the Pacific Ocean into their empire’s personal “Inland Sea.” With this spirit in mind, the powerful Russian-American Company was established 15 years later and rapidly began asserting a monopoly over Alaskan trade. The Russian-American Company wouldn’t relinquish this authority until Alaska was purchased by the U.S. in 1867.

Otter pelts were easily the area’s most profitable commodity. However, after a few decades’ worth of over-hunting by the Russian-American Company, the animals began to grow scarce. At the same time, Russian settlers had difficulty adapting their traditional farming practices to Alaska’s unforgiving terrain and shortened growing season. As a result, it became difficult to supply the colonists with enough food. Something had to be done.

That’s when Russia set her sights on California. At first, the Alaskan colonies were merely interested in acquiring more food by trading with their Cali-based Spanish counterparts. But California’s abundance proved tantalizing. Soon enough, the Russians started making plans to stake their own claim on its sunny, otter-rich coastline.

Located 60 miles north of modern-day San Francisco, Fort Ross is the largest lingering trace of this effort. A historical landmark today, this wooden settlement was formally founded on February 2, 1812, after it was acquired from the local Native Americans for “three blankets, three pairs of breeches, two axes, three hoes, and some beads.”

Ross, which got its name from a phonetic abbreviation for “Russia,” housed occupants from the motherland for the next 29 years. Unfortunately, despite the settlers’ best efforts, this Californian experiment could neither adequately solve Alaska’s food crisis nor produce enough otter furs to become profitable. Also, Russia’s presence there wasn’t exactly met with warmth by the Spanish (more on that below). Finally, in 1841, the Fort Ross territory was sold to an American pioneer named John Sutter (1803-1880), this time for the agreed-upon sum of $30,000, which he never actually paid. 

On a semi-related note, Colonial Russia can be partially credited with prompting the creation of one of America’s most famous documents: the Monroe Doctrine. In 1821, Tsar Alexander I, whose subjects now reigned supreme over everything from Alaska to Oregon (not to mention that tiny slice of California real estate), released an imperial edict which forbade foreign vessels from coming within 100 miles of “his” Pacific Northwest. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams swiftly informed Russia’s ambassadors that the U.S. government would “contest the right of Russia to any territorial establishment on this continent, and that we should assume distinctly the principle that the American continents are no longer subjects for any new colonial establishments.” Two years later, this argument would be echoed in President James Monroe’s anti-colonialist manifesto.

Additionally, San Francisco owes its existence to Russia’s North American presence. On October 28, 1776—the day Yankee and British forces collided in the Battle of White Plains over 2500 miles away—San Francisco was established by the Spanish, who hoped this new settlement would discourage incoming Tsarist fur traders from moving further southward.

More evidence of Russia’s impact on California is found in the naming of San Francisco’s “Russian Hill” neighborhood. During California’s gold rush, a handful of Cyrillic-labeled tombstones (which probably belonged to visiting Russian merchants) were discovered there, providing yet another trace of the Golden State’s deeply-rooted connection to this long-gone empire.  

It’s not often that I’d describe a spider as “cute,” but this male jumping spider is an adorable little arachnid. He doesn’t spin webs, but he does spin on the dance floor. He even makes a form of music, audible only to spiders, to augment his dance. Deep Look writes (emphasis added):

… If she likes what she sees, the female may allow him to mate. But things can also go terribly wrong for these eight-legged suitors. She might decide to attack him, or even eat him for lunch. Cannibalism is the result about seven percent of the time. …

In this 4K Ultra-HD video, we get to look at jumping spiders getting into the groove. Enjoy:

For more on these spiders (and the studies that inspired this video), check out KQED Science’s blog post on the topic.

Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica and thrive in cities, towns, and rural settings. But despite being all around us, they’re a bit of a mystery. Here’s more about this elusive animal.

1. Foxes Are Solitary.

Foxes are part of the Canidae family, which means they’re related to wolves, jackals, and dogs. They’re medium-sized, between 7 and 15 pounds, with pointy faces, lithe frames, and bushy tails. But unlike their relatives, foxes are not pack animals. When raising their young, they live in small families—called a “leash of foxes” or a “skulk of foxes”—in underground burrows. Otherwise, they hunt and sleep alone.

2. Foxes Have A Lot In Common With Cats.

Like the cat, the fox is most active after the sun goes down. In fact, it has vertically oriented pupils that allow it to see in dim light. It even hunts in a similar manner to a cat, by stalking and pouncing on its prey.

And that’s just the beginning of the similarities. Like the cat, the fox has sensitive whiskers and spines on its tongue. It walks on its toes, which accounts for its elegant, cat-like tread. And—get this—many foxes have retractable claws that allow them to climb rooftops or trees. Some foxes even sleep in trees—just like cats.

3. The Red Fox Is The Most Common Fox.

The red fox has the widest geographical range of any animal in the order Carnivora. While its natural habitat is a mixed landscape of scrub and woodland, its flexible diet allows it to adapt to many environments. As a result, its range is the entire Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to North Africa to Central America to the Asiatic steppes. It’s also in Australia, where it’s considered an invasive species.

4. Foxes Use The Earth’s Magnetic Field.

Like a guided missile, the fox harnesses the earth’s magnetic field to hunt. Other animals, like birds, sharks, and turtles, have this “magnetic sense,” but the fox is the first one we’ve discovered that uses it to catch prey.

According to New Scientist, the fox can see the earth’s magnetic field as a “ring of shadow” on its eyes that darkens as it heads towards magnetic north. When the shadow and the sound the prey is making line up, it’s time to pounce. Here’s the fox in action:

5. Foxes Are Good Parents.

Foxes reproduce once a year. Litters range from one to 11 pups (the average is six), which are born blind and don’t open their eyes until nine days after birth. During that time, they stay with the vixen (female) in the den while the dog (male) brings them food. They live with their parents until they’re seven months old. The vixen protects her pups with surprising loyalty. Recently, a fox pup was caught in a trap in England for two weeks, but survived because its mother brought it food every day.

6. The Smallest Fox Weighs Under 3 Pounds.

Roughly the size of a kitten, the fennec fox has elongated ears and a creamy coat. It lives in the Sahara Desert, where it sleeps during the day to protect it from the searing heat. Its ears not only allow it to hear prey, they also radiate body heat, which keeps the fox cool. Its paws are covered with fur so that the fox can walk on hot sand, like it’s wearing snowshoes.

7. Foxes Are Playful.

Foxes are known to be friendly and curious. They play among themselves as well as with other animals like cats and dogs. They love balls, which they frequently steal from golf courses.

Although foxes are wild animals, their relationship with humans goes way back. In 2011, researchers opened a grave in a 16,500-year-old cemetery in Jordan to find the remains of a man and his pet fox. This was 4000 years before the first-known human and dog were buried together.

8. You Can Buy A Pet Fox.

In the 1960s, a Soviet geneticist named Dmitry Belyaev bred thousands of foxes before achieving a domesticated fox. Unlike a tame fox, which has learned to tolerate humans, a domesticated fox is docile toward people from birth. Today, you can buy a pet fox for $9000, according to Fast Company. They’re reportedly curious and sweet-tempered, although inclined to dig in your furniture.

9. Arctic Foxes Don’t Shiver Until –70 degrees Celsius.

The arctic fox, which lives in the northernmost areas of the hemisphere, can handle cold better than most animals on earth. It doesn’t even get cold until –70 degrees Celsius. Its white coat also camouflages it against predators. As the seasons change, the coat changes too, turning brown or gray so the fox can blend in with the rocks and dirt of the tundra.

10. Fox Hunting Continues To Be Controversial.

Perhaps because of the fox’s ability to decimate a chicken coop, in the 16th century, fox hunting became a popular activity in Britain. In the 19th century, the upper classes turned fox hunting into a formalized sport where a pack of hounds and men on horseback chase a fox until it is killed. Today, whether to ban fox hunting continues to be a controversial subject in the UK. Currently, fox hunting with dogs is not allowed.

11. The Fox Appears Throughout Folklore.

Examples include: the nine-tail fox from various Asian cultures; the Reynard tales from medieval Europe; the sly trickster fox from Native American lore; and Aesop’s “The Fox and the Crow.” The Finnish believed a fox made the Northern Lights by running in the snow so that its tail swept sparks into the sky. From this, we get the phrase “fox fires.”

12. Bat-eared Foxes Listen For Insects.

The bat-eared fox is aptly named, not just because of its 5-inch ears, but because of what it uses those ears for—like the bat, it listens for insects. On a typical night, the fox walks along the African Savannah, listening, until it hears the scuttle of prey. Although the fox eats a variety of insects and lizards, most of its diet is made up of termites. In fact, the bat-eared fox often makes its home in termite mounds, which it usually cleans out of inhabitants before moving in.

13. Darwin Discovered A Fox Species.

During his voyage on the Beagle, Charles Darwin collected a fox that today is unimaginatively called Darwin’s Fox. This small gray fox is critically endangered and lives in just two spots in the world: One population is on Island of Chiloé in Chile, and the second is in a Chilean national park. The fox’s greatest threats are unleashed domestic dogs that carry diseases like rabies.

14. Foxes Sound Like This.

Foxes make 40 different sounds, some of which you can listen to here. The most startling is the scream:

Pleasant dreams!

All images courtesy of iStock unless otherwise stated.