We concluded that a corn rock most likely forms when small blobs of molten lava splash down over an ear. A falling blob of basalt lava would have a low enough viscosity to envelope an ear before the molten hardens to solid rock...

Obviously, it would not be safe for humans to carry ears of corn into the fallout zone of a towering lava fountain. A safe setting, however, would be at what geologists call an hornito (means "little oven" in Spanish). An hornito is essentially a miniature volcano that spews molten blobs of melt that fall back to Earth and accumulate into a welded-together chimney-like stack as they solidify and cool...

So, early Native Americans living near the present site of Sunset Crater Volcano witnessed an eruption that at some stage could be safely approached to place ears of corn at the base of an active hornito.

If you Google "ear stapling," you'll see testimonials from people claiming it helped them lose weight. You'll also see some devotees assert that it eliminates migraines, nicotine cravings and insomnia.

What you won't see is any scientific proof to back those claims up or doctors extolling the practice's health benefits. There's some evidence supporting the use of auricular acupuncture for weight loss, but — while some acupuncturists offer the service — ear stapling isn't the same thing as auricular acupuncture.

The lack of scientific evidence supporting ear stapling for weight loss is one of the reasons most states don't regulate it — there'd need to be some evidence that the practice is legitimate, and there isn't any.