Paid to Play Episode 8: The one about the amazing lava flow that ate an entire Mexican village.

In 1943, in a small village in the state of Michoacán, a farmer noticed that the middle of his cornfield started smoking and began cursing the fact that his property value was about to go down the toilet. The small fissure in the earth's surface was shooting ash and rocks into the Mexican sky. A week later, the new volcano had grown five stories tall and after a month, it could be seen from a distance. The eruptions continued for nne years until it grew to 1391 feet (424 m) above the cornfield from which it was born. In one of the massive eruptions during its first year of life, the small village of Parícutin was swallowed up by a slow moving, yet unstoppable lava flow. Like the Blob that ate New York, the village was eventually consumed. No one died, but the villagers were powerless to stop it and eventually moved to nearby farm land. What remains today is a natural wonder and testament of the power of nature. Part of the old church, destroyed by the lava flow, still remains and is accessible for exploration. The twin steeples and the alter are all that remain. The volcano stopped erupting in 1952 and will never erupt again. For volcano fans, this is a must see in your travels through Mexico.