You spin me round (like a periaktos)

I was just doing some idle Googling yesterday, and apparently there is (or was) a Scottish beer named Rebel Prince. There’s not much information on the web about it, but here’s one description I found:

Rebel Prince is a traditional Scotch ale created in honour of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the last Stuart to lay claim to the English throne in 1745, after defeating English forces at Prestonpans. Prince Charlie led his troops south to London, reaching Derby before turning back on the advice of his officers. The following spring at Culloden his army suffered a crushing defeat and Prince Charlie became a fugitive in the Highlands before escaping to France. The bold character of The Rebel Prince is echoed in the firm flavour of this Golden Ale.

Interesting. Mmm, beer. But back to Googling, it’s kind of cool (and/or creepy?) what blasts from the past you can find. Searching Google Groups, I found some newsgroup posts I had written as early as 1995. (That sounds about right; either that year or the previous one, I first dipped my toe into online waters, signing up with a San Francisco-based BBS called Nerdshack.) In one post, I had written looking for penpals with whom I could practice corresponding in Spanish. I see there were a few responses; did I ever get back to those people? In another group, one on musicals, I wrote about the mirrors we had built for my high-school production of A Chorus Line. I struggled to describe them–they were mounted on revolving three-sided structures–but later on in the thread someone helpfully posted, “My people call them periaktoi.” Heh, that’s exactly what I meant. Oh, the things (and people) you find online.