How do they get the corn off the cob?

[Cardinal]

Without cutting it to bits, I mean. Often it's still whole, as if it's been somehow ripped off the cob, not cut.

[Patty O'Furniture]

There is a device called a corn stripper (http://www.kitchenfantasy.com/more%20gadgets.htm) that looks like a cylinder with one of the edges sharpened. It has handles on both sides and you can slide it down over the cob and shuck the corn right off.

I am sure that there are machines that can do this for hundreds of ears at a time.