What has ears but cannot hear?

How to think about it

1. Ears that cannot hear are not on a head, so find things that are called ears for another reason.
2. Pitchers and jugs sometimes have “ears”, but the famous example grows in a field.
3. Think of a tall green plant harvested in late summer, sold in husks.
4. Each cob of corn is called an ear, and a cornfield has no hearing at all.

Why “Corn” is the answer

A cob of corn is called an ear of corn, so a single stalk can have two or three ears and a field has thousands. None of them can hear, because the word comes from an old term for a head of grain, not from the body part. The riddle is one of the first puns many children learn.

Common wrong answers

• A jug. Jug handles are sometimes called ears, but it is a rare use and not the answer the riddle wants.
• A deaf person. This answer misses the point; the riddle is about a thing whose “ears” were never meant for hearing.