ELI5 Hedge Funds - what are they and what is short selling?

What are hedge funds? Explain short selling like I'm five. What creates the phenomenon known as a short squeeze and how have people lost or made a ton of money because of it?   ... We explain like i'm five!   Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: humulous, imovedyourcheese, door_of_doom, eli5_modteam, the_friendly_skeptic & bradorsomething To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Send us an e-mail: [email protected]