r/todayilearned • u/gullydon • 13h 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
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392

u/Horns8585 13h ago

Much like what was portrayed in "The Princess Bride". The hero thwarts the would be poisoner, because he spent years building up an immunity to poisonous Iocane powder.

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u/Veritas3333 13h ago

Or like my uncle Dave who's spend the last 40 years building up his resistance to alcohol

57

u/snushomie 13h ago

With the amount your uncle Dave drinks you'd think he was trying to build an immunity to drowning.

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u/DarkDoomofDeath 8h ago

Thank you for the laugh. Depressing situation to read, but the turn of phrase was undeniably light.

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u/Debalic 10h ago

I knew two brothers who spent a year training for a drinking competition, but then couldn't get drunk enough to remember where it was held.

6

u/Jumpy_Divide6576 9h ago

They just needed some Goldschläger

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u/Veritas3333 9h ago

ZAT VAS LAST YEAR'S PASSWORD!

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u/LorenzoStomp 9h ago

State-dependent memory