A Molotov cocktail is a crude flammable device constructed by filling a bottle with flammable liquid.
Description[]
A Molotov cocktail, also known as a petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, bottle bomb, poor man's grenade, fire bomb (not to be confused with an actual fire bomb), fire bottle or just Molotov, sometimes shortened as Molly, is a generic name used for a variety of bottle-based improvised incendiary weapons.
Due to the relative ease of production and effectiveness, Molotov cocktails have been used by criminals, protesters, rioters, urban guerrillas, terrorists, irregular soldiers, or even regular soldiers that were short on equivalent military-issue weapons. They are primarily intended to ignite rather than completely destroy targets, and are often used just as much to cause chaos as to actually do damage, sometimes being used as weapons during insurrections and mass protests.
Design[]
A Molotov cocktail is a breakable glass bottle containing a flammable substance such as petrol, alcohol, or a napalm-like mixture, with some motor oil added, and usually a source of ignition such as a burning cloth wick held in place by the bottle's stopper. The wick is usually soaked in alcohol or kerosene, rather than petrol.
In action, the wick is lit and the bottle hurled at a target such as a vehicle or fortification. When the bottle smashes on impact, the ensuing cloud of fuel droplets and vapour is ignited by the attached wick, causing an immediate fireball followed by spreading flames as the remainder of the fuel is consumed.
Other flammable liquids such as diesel fuel, methanol, turpentine, jet fuel, and isopropyl alcohol have been used in place of, or combined with petrol. Thickening agents such as solvents, foam polystyrene, baking soda, petroleum jelly, tar, strips of tyre tubing, nitrocellulose, XPS foam, motor oil, rubber cement, detergent and dish soap have been added to promote adhesion of the burning liquid and to create clouds of thick, choking smoke.[1]
In addition, toxic substances are also known to be added to the mixture, to create a suffocating or poisonous gas on the resulting explosion, effectively turning the Molotov cocktail into a makeshift chemical weapon. These include bleach, chlorine, various strong acids, and pesticides, among others.
Usage in A Series of Unfortunate Events[]
Violet Baudelaire describes these to be small bombs and knows how to make them. She considered making a few with the numerous bottles in Count Olaf's house in order to escape Olaf's tower, but did not have enough materials.[2]
In the Netflix series, Mrs. Quagmire was also seen to be making one in a mysterious prison in an unknown location.[3]
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- ↑ Template:Cite book
- ↑ PROSE: The Bad Beginning
- ↑ TV: The Bad Beginning: Part Two