Hallo, Paul,
immer noch auf der Jagd nach den Regenln des push-pin-Spieles stolperte ich über einen Text, in dem das von dir angeführte Zitat ebenfalls eine Rolle spielt:
" You probably also remember the early attack on utilitarianism, or at least the attacks that Bentham and Mill themselves canvassed on the way to the argument. There was the “pushpin” objection, where the question that arose was whether a children’s game called pushpin was as good as reading Milton if it yielded the same number of pleasure units. And then I remember Mill assaying the argument that hedonistic utilitarianism was a philosophy for pigs because it would seem that the best life was just grubbing for slop and enjoying the considerable pleasures that accompany such activity. Bentham and Mill disagreed about how to deal with this, if I remember rightly: Bentham bit the bullet and said that if the quantity of pleasure really was the same then pushpin really was just as good as poetry. Mill, on the other hand, tried to formulate a hierarchy of pleasures and say that some pleasures were better than others. And he appointed experts to judge about this: people who had experienced both the supposed pleasures of the mind and the pleasures of the body were to return from their safaris into ecstasy and tell us what to do. http://www.chairetmetal.com/cm03/sart-imprime.htm
Vielleicht ist das ja von Interesse.
Eine Erwähnung des Spiels habe ich noch im „American Heritage Dictionary“ gefunden, wo allerdings - neben der „Reißzwecken“-Übersetzung - nur stand „A game played by children with pins“, womit wir wieder bei der Frage wären „Kegel oder Nadeln?“. Aber ich suche mal weiter 
Grüße
Eckard
1 „Gefällt mir“
Vielen, vielen Dank!
… und auch ein interessanter Artikel.
Hi Sian,
ich sag’s ja wieder mal: Kontext.
Pushpin waere suedafrikanisches Skittles.
(und ich mein nicht die Dinger zum Essen),
aber ihr habt Recht:
I admit defeat -
die suedafrikanische Bedeutung KANN NICHT
gemeint sein.
RIA*
Elke
(*rolling in ashes 
1 „Gefällt mir“
Doch Nadeln!
Hallo, Paul,
wie gesagt, ich bleibe dran. Hier ein Zwischenstand:
Auf http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/pa/philadelphia…
fand ich :
„Chapter 42: Vol II - Watson’s Annals of Philadelphia And Pennsylvania, 1857“
Dort heißt es unter dem Titel
Pins, what becomes of them ?
Considering the millions made every day – the people wonder what becomes of them! This subject brings to mind their state in a former age, when they were all imported and cost more than now. It was a consideration to save them all by picking them up when seen. This was a peculiar operation of the boys – Two special reasons concurred with them : they were their capital for the play of the game of push pin , and for their surplus they could get pennies, at home. It was a common sight to see boys with a line of pins stuck in their sleeve cuffs. Men too, always had a place for some, stuck in a line at the head of the lapels of their coats.
Hervorhebung von mir
Sollte ich weitere Einzelheiten herausfinden melde ich mich per mail bei Dir (falls es dich interessiert)
Gruß
Eckard
1 „Gefällt mir“
Und hier die Lösung:
Woran wir nicht dachten: Einen Hut trug in dieser Zeit jeder, selbst Straßenjungs!
http://www.mail-archive.com/lace-chat%40arachne.com/…
Falls der Link nicht funktioniert (wäre schade, ist lesenswert) hier die Essenz:
A game with pins on the crown of a hat. Two or more may play.
Each lays on a pin, then with the hand they strike the side of the hat time about, and whoever makes the pins by a stroke cross each other, lifts those so crossed.
Grüße
Eckard
1 „Gefällt mir“