# What has ears but cannot hear?

Source: https://silverapuzzles.com/riddles/what-has-ears-but-cannot-hear

A farm riddle. The answer grows in rows, and the word for its parts is the same word you use for the sides of your head.

**Answer:** Corn.

Corn grows in ears.

Hint: It grows on a farm.

## 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.