Acquired Poison Immunity: Difference between revisions

* As noted above, the official term for this (Mithridatism) comes from King Mithridates VI, a king of Pontus. He feared assassination so badly that he took small doses of poison regularly in order to become immune to the poison's effects. His subjects often called him the Poison King, and he'd often hold banquets where, just to show off, he'd drink wine he purposely spiked with toxins in front of guests. This backfired when the king was eventually conquered. He attempted to commit suicide by poisoning himself only to find that he was immune; depending on the version of the story you hear, he then either fell upon his sword or had an underling run him through. In either case, the poem says it best: [http://www.bartelby.net/123/62.html "Mithridates, he died old."]