Three episodes are described that involve high-speed rotation: exploiting, inhibiting, or emulating molecular pinwheeling. (1) In a historical preface, we revisit E.B. Wilson's microwave spectroscopy lab, nearly 50 years ago, where Chun Lin had a major role in developing theory to analyze the hindered internal rotation of methyl groups. Key features were splitting of torsional levels by tunneling between equivalent potential minima and coupling of internal and overall rotation. (2) Recent techniques with kindred aspects are described which have greatly expanded means to orient or align molecules in molecular beams. These employ static electric or magnetic fields or nonresonant laser light to arrest molecular rotation and create spatially oriented or aligned pendular states, in which the molecular axis librates about the field direction. The most general method exploits the anisotropy of the molecular polarizability. The induced dipole resulting from interaction with a strong nonresonant laser does not distinguish between the two ends of a molecule, whether or not they differ. This produces a symmetric double-well potential, in which the lowest pendular levels are split by tunneling into doublet components of opposite parity. If the molecule is polar, adding a weak static field, congruent with the laser field, connects the nearly degenerate tunneling doublets, producing a strong pseudo-first-order Stark effect. These techniques can be exploited in manipulating molecular trajectories and loading traps. (3) A key prerequisite for trapping molecules is a means to lower markedly their translational kinetic energy (much more difficult to accomplish than for atoms). A promising method, recently demonstrated, involves mounting a supersonic nozzzle near the tip of a high-speed centrifuge, rotated in contrary fashion to cancel the velocity of the emerging molecules. A chief aim of trapping is to obtain ultracold conditions, with molecules moving like bettles rather than bullets and thus behaving as nanomatter waves.