Molotov Cocktail 101: What They Are & How They're Made
www.ballisticmag.com
The Molotov cocktail is a common weapon of terrorists, both foreign and domestic, so it's a good idea to know what you're going up against.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/139677

And we’re using our enemy’s handbook for further humiliation 😎

So to recap:

  • gasoline is the base

  • paint thinner to help the cocktail spread, the typical mixture is 50/50

  • styrofoam to help thicken it and conserve thermal heat (logically you wouldn’t use it with paint thinner, thick molotov for pinpointed damage and thin molotov for crowd control)

  • weak bottles; the mixture has to explode everywhere, not stay in the bottle. Beer and wine bottles are surprisingly tough. You can weaken it by etching streaks in it, or find a beer brand that makes weak bottles.

  • a chemical igniter is safer than lighting a rag on fire, but can be more difficult to make. A simple igniter is soaking a rag in sugar and potassium chlorate, then put sulfuric acid in the mixture. What I believe needs to happen is for the rag to touch the mixture, which should happen after you throw the molotov or while you are throwing it, but not before.

  • aim at the ground, not at vertical stuff.

Their use is mostly for show, it makes a nice ball of flame that will keep the pigs at bay. But they are not actually that powerful. However, they are very cheap and easy to make for protestors.