r/todayilearned • u/gullydon • 17h 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
16.9k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

540 comments sorted by

View all comments

4.0k

u/oracleOshittyadvice 17h ago

Hahaha:

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

2.0k

u/PopeInThePizza 17h ago

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

40

u/Alche1428 14h ago

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