Abstract :
Contrary to popular belief, the Molotov cocktail was not invented in the Soviet Union. In fact, as delegates learned at the 24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine (ICHSTM) in July, the ´burning bottle´ devices were first mass-produced and tested against the Soviet tanks during the so-called ´Winter War´ of 1939-1940 (when Molotov was the USSR´s Minister for Foreign Affairs).