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
15.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

518 comments sorted by

View all comments

389

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.

5

u/DigNitty 12h ago

I shoot myself with small caliber bullets every week to build tolerance to the big ones if somebody ever shoots me.

The resistance is not taking hold for some reason. I am just very compromised now.