A quick note about pins in the mouth: When I was in high school, if our home economics teacher caught us with a pin in our mouth, it was an automatic F for that class, consequently, I refrain from doing that; she was stressing the danger & trying to eliminate that habit in her classes...[/quote]
I am with you, this is a NO NO. In my country, the muslim ladies use pins to tug their veils. A few months ago, a girl hold a pin in her mouth when she dressed up. Bad luck she sneezed, and accidentally swallowed the pin. The pin got stuck in her throat (could not get in or get out). It was in the local TV news, to warn the girls not to do the same. No further news however about this poor girl. A true story, not a fairy-tale.