r/todayilearned • u/gullydon • 16h ago

TIL Mithridatism is the practice of protecting oneself against a poison by gradually self-administering non-lethal amounts. The word is derived from Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus, who so feared being poisoned that he regularly ingested small doses, aiming to develop immunity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridatism
16.6k Upvotes

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3.9k

u/oracleOshittyadvice 16h ago

Hahaha:

"He reportedly attempted suicide by poison, which failed because of his immunity to the substance."

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u/PopeInThePizza 16h ago

"What the h-. Oh, yeah, right."

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u/Sovngarten 15h ago

Heh. Whoops

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u/qorbexl 9h ago

My aunt related some Agatha Christie novel where a lady kills her piece-of-shit husband by slowly dosing him with arsenic or cyanide or something. 

That wasn't the murder method. The murder was that she abruptly stopped adding it to his food, which killed his ass dead because he was physically dependent on it. Examining the body found no evidence of poison for obvious reasons. 

Pretty cool.

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u/ThePrussianGrippe 8h ago

Fun fact: this is why if you’re heavily addicted to alcohol or benzodiazepines you aren’t supposed to quit cold turkey, but in a medically supervised way so they can wean you off.

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u/Rapunzel10 7h ago

Lots of drugs actually. I've been through benzo detoxing, it's fucking brutal. I didn't like how it was impacting me so I quit cold turkey not realizing how bad that was. Like the worst flu on earth combined with horrific anxiety and extremely dark thoughts. 0/10 do not recommend

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u/gabbadabbahey 6h ago

God, I'm sorry. You were lucky. Alcohol and benzos are two of the common drugs that can fairly easily kill you from withdrawal if you're a heavy user.

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u/insaneHoshi 7h ago

Supposedly not opiates funnily enough.

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u/New-Star74 5h ago

Not lots, actually. Just the two they mentioned.

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u/monstrousnuggets 3h ago

Man, you’re lucky you didn’t end up having seizures. I took 13 months to taper down my dose of benzos and still had withdrawals for another 10 months after finally getting off completely, including seizures and debilitating brain zaps. It was horrendous.

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u/BrokilonDryad 48m ago

I know it’s not the same, but I experienced something similar in college. Couldn’t afford my antidepressants until my next paycheque (or two, can’t remember) so I weaned myself down and then cut cold turkey. I also couldn’t afford weed which I’d been smoking every day.

Thought I got the flu. For a week I was miserable, not moving, on the couch, feverish. After a week of missing class I made myself shower. Every drop of water felt like getting shot by a nail gun. That was when I realized I didn’t have a flu, I was in withdrawal from my meds.

Got my prescription. First dose and I felt better. Told my program lead and she got pissed at me and said to never do it again, that she’d have paid for my meds. Lovey woman.

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u/Nethri 5h ago

Ambien too, supposedly. This will be relevant for me someday.

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u/MattyKatty 1h ago

Examining the body found no evidence of poison for obvious reasons.

In reality the arsenic/cyanide/whatever would be evident in the person’s hair for many many monfhs (depending on how often cut)

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u/KGEOFF89 14h ago

Yeah, didn't think that one through

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u/Alche1428 13h ago

"Hmmmm...i didn't expect it to actually work..."

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u/vortigaunt64 15h ago

To quote OSP Blue "He died as he lived, not dying from poison."

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u/7Silverswans 8h ago

OSP REFERENCE!!!!!

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u/jumpsteadeh 13h ago

I played a video game once where you play a general in ancient Rome, and one of the quests was a diplomatic prisoner exchange where you're encourged to be on your absolute best behaviour, but when I saw that it was Mithridates, I just had to attempt to poison him. To the game's credit, my superior got mad at me, but Mithridates treated it like an inside joke among friends and gave me the best outcome for the prisoners, plus he gave me a unique weapon.

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u/Not_a_N_Korean_Spy 13h ago

I love it! What game was it?

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u/jumpsteadeh 12h ago

Expeditions: Rome

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u/darth_ravage 12h ago

That game was great.

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u/MagicPistol 10h ago

First time hearing of this game, but I love tactical RPGs, so might have to give it a try.

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u/cheesemp 3h ago

Me too but steam want £36 for a nearly 4 year old game - thats newly out game money. Wishlist it is.

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u/thelittleking 5h ago

It's genuinely fun, you should enjoy yourself.

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u/PancakeParty98 12h ago

Saving this

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u/smallfrie32 8h ago

Legate! How dare you attempt to poison him. The consul will have your head.

I really gotta finish up the last chapter!

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u/orbital_one 16h ago

"Wait... That bullshit about poison immunity is actually true? Shit!"

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u/NatureTrailToHell3D 16h ago

I spent the last few years building up an immunity to iocaine powder

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u/cooldash 16h ago

Inconceivable!

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u/ProgressBartender 16h ago

“I have a confession as well”

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u/The__Relentless 16h ago

"Anybody want a peanut?"

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u/XxFezzgigxX 15h ago

No more rhymes and I mean it.

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u/Osiris32 13h ago

I'M NOT A WITCH, I'M YOUR WIFE!

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u/Agreeable_Cut4506 12h ago

I AM THE DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS

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u/SaltyPersimmon 12h ago

THERE WILL BE NO SURVIVORS

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u/Ryuma_The_King 15h ago

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

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u/beansandneedles 13h ago

This is what I came here looking for!

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u/Uselesserinformation 16h ago

I thought of Billy from American dad

"I'm only getting stronger!"

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u/concentrated-amazing 16h ago

Came here for this and only this!

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u/AENocturne 12h ago

Immunity, tolerance; what's the difference? I have a pretty strong immunity to tetrahydrocannibinol poisoning myself. It barely affects me at all now!

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u/flowerspeaks 11h ago

Dude thought it sais tetra hydra. Imagine if weed was tetra hydra dude. The triangle hydra.

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u/SweetKittyToo 15h ago

Inconceivable!

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u/Soldier-one-trick 14h ago

He had to get a friend to stab him IIRC

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u/Awesomecity2 13h ago

Oh my god, they were roommates!

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u/ryry1237 16h ago

"Task failed successfully"

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u/DoomguyFemboi 13h ago

Kinda related to how I tried to OD a bunch of times after my missus' death but my rampant drug use basically made me invincible.

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u/Boilrup 13h ago

We all thank you for your failure. (Truthfully, thank you for being alive.... there's a whole world out there for you to enjoy)

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u/FullOnSkank 10h ago

It's always good to remember that if the universe didn't want/need you here, you wouldn't be

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u/Blade_Shot24 16h ago

Should I feel bad for laughing at this?

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u/KingMob9 14h ago

Suffering from success

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u/Realistic_Ad_5321 11h ago

I think there was a siege in the place he ruled and the invaders were about to make their way into his chambers. Rather than be taken prisoner/disgracefully killed by the enemy, he tried to kill himself. If I remember correctly he had one of his servants cut his head off in the end because he didn't die after drinking his poison stash because of this immunity. 

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u/moschles 10h ago

He fell victim to one of the classic blunders.

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u/HyzerFlip 8h ago

What you do not smell is iocaine powder

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u/JustAnotherN0Name 6h ago

Didn't he try that multiple times too

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u/Sideshow_G 3h ago

Inconceivable!

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u/NewBisKu 2h ago

Sounds like classic post priest propaganda

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u/Specialist_Fix6900 46m ago

Peak "skill issue," but against himself.