Short answers, pulled from the story.
The stapes is the smallest named bone in the human body and it is located in the middle ear. This bone is smaller than a grain of rice and transmits vibrations from the incus to the fluid-filled inner ear.
The inner ear begins to form from the ectoderm around the 22nd day of embryonic development. The outer ear is fully expanded by the end of the 18th week of development.
Ernst Dieffenbach published the first surgery to reduce the projection of prominent ears in 1845. This procedure addressed the condition where protruding ears are present in about 5% of ethnic Europeans.
All mammals have three auditory ossicles known as the malleus, the incus, and the stapes. These bones transmit vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear.
Protruding ears are present in about 5% of ethnic Europeans and have been considered unattractive in Western societies. This perception often applies particularly if the ears are asymmetric.