Yes it can. Corn is one of those items that needs to be dealt with ASAP (within 24 hours is the standard recommendation) after picking off the plant. Wednesday till Sunday is days too long even with refrigeration. And once shucked it also dries out quickly.

Dave

I was a QC product specialist for a frozen food processing and packaging plant for years that processed fresh fruits and vegetables. In my experience as Dave said it needs to be processed quickly to maintain quality. Sweet corn loses moisture rapidly. Which will not only cause loss of sweetness but also tougher skins. It is always best to store fresh corn in the the refrigerator.
~Tina

Not sure if the shucking matters, but the corn would have been tastiest if you ate it for lunch on Wednesday :).

It won't hurt you to eat it now -- it will just taste more like store corn. Maybe use it to make corn chowder or something. Or you can make an awesome tart with peppers and jack cheese, eggs and milk, maybe some tomato slices on top :).

My dad used to say corn was too old if it had been more than 30 minutes since it was picked :).

Actually it depends on the variety of corn, some of the newer sweet corn will hold it's sweetness for a few days, providing it is cooled. Out on the counter is not the place.

When you remove the husk, you will loose moisture, the husk helps to keep that moisture in. Same thing with the shanks, which most grocery stores never see.

The older varieties of corn, you needed the water boiling before you picked for the perfect corn taste.