Flamethrowers are actually useful and have a purpose. So do RPGs and grenade launchers, which aren't exactly used against infantry. You use RPGs and grenades to inflict damage on armored vehicles. You use flamethrowers to, like, control wildfires. Oh, and kill bees.

[quote=lavalarva]It's seven times the speed of SOUND. Which is like 500,000 times slower. [/quote]

Fix'd, sorry about that. A perfect demonstration of liquid sense-making, also known as booze. Don't drink, kids.

It's called a safety lever. Releasing it ignites the fuse inside the grenade.

It is important to note that there are a fuckton of grenade types and not every one has this feature. Of special mention are the Model 24 used by the Nazis which, once you pulled the string that ignited the damn thing, gave you five seconds to throw it the fuck away from you. Once you lighted it, there was no turning back.

Of course, the string was protected by a screw-on cap that you had to unscrew before combat. Well, you could unscrew them during combat, but that would require all your kraut buddies covering your nazi balls while you wasted time doing it. On the flip side, they could be thrown much further than the grenades issued to the Allies.

If you're suddenly faced with a grenade, you pretty much have only two choices:

a) Get the fuck away from it and hit the deck.
b) Try to kick it away and die as it explodes just before your foot connects.

Countless times to me alone in Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. Kicking grenades makes them actually go way further than if you would throw it. In real life, though, I'm not sure any soldier is dumb enough to actually try that.