Is Poison Immunity Possible? (Because Science w/ Kyle Hill)

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Westley from Princess Bride escaped death by developing an immunity to poison, but is this really possible? Kyle tries to cheat death on this week’s Because Science!

Because Science every Thursday.

Artist: Andrew Bowser

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[powerbound]

I'm highly resistant against most poisonous substances, it's also really hard for me to get drunk and pain killers at the dentists don't actually work on me... I would trade my natural resistance to not feel pain at the dentist in a heartbeat

[poiuytrewq]

Holy shit, tattoos with Snake venom? Snake handlers are hardcore.

[silencia]

i keep waiting for Kyle to shout "To me Mjolnir!!" or "Odin's Beard!"

[mrballoonhands]

I would like him to explain Rasputin, he said you can only build up a resistance to something, but Rasputin definitely pushed that to the point where it seems he was immune to cyanide.

[sin]

I once had a food allergy to peanuts and apricots. When I was 9 years old I thought about how the flu shot worked and decided to take small quantities of roasted nuts and dried apricots. I got really sick the first 20-30 times doing it but in less than a year I started getting less and less sick from them. Now I can eat all the nuts and apricots I want. Sometimes you have to adapt instead of avoid. (When I said small quantities, I meant really small at first. Just the oils for the first few weeks.)

[paulhutchinson]

There is a man (who is on YouTube somewhere, I saw him on Outrageous Acts of Science once as well) who over a period of time poisoned himself with black mamba venom. He then let one bite his arm and hang on for a about a minute. He had so much resistance that he didn't even get weak, just put the snake back and went about his day.

[jasoncase]

You should do the science of Hollywood inaccuracies for jumping off bridges, out of helicopters high up and other high places no injuries or death.

[FieldMarshalFry]

"don't go fighting a land war in Asia" unless you are, wait for it, The Mongol's *Mongoltage*

[fmitchella]

Somewhat related: DC's Poison Ivy -- in many continuities -- has an immunity to plant-based toxins *and* has blood filled with said toxins, to the point where her kiss or touch is almost instantly lethal. Starting with _Batman: The Animated Series_, she conferred that immunity to Harley Quinn. (In B:TAS they were hiding in a toxic waste dump; in the comics it's so Harley doesn't die when they ... "play".)

Is it even remotely possible to have such a broad immunity (or resistance) to poisons, to the point where one is a kind of multispectrum Typhoid Mary? Or to confer said immunity? Remember, it's ALL plant-based toxins, a fairly diverse group, including some kind of fast-acting mold spores as seen in the recent _Cycle of Life and Death_ series and earlier. (Presumably it would also include the emulsin in bitter almonds that creates cyanide.) More recent versions of Ivy make her part plant, so her biology is already comic book rubber science. Let's also not forget her psychic rapport with plants, or her ability to make them move without anything approximating muscle fibers, or her ability to make plant matter grow even without root systems or nutrients much as the Hulk spontaneously gains mass. Or, for that matter, her "pheromone control" that amounts to mind control.

[bryonyamada]

There is a drink in Japan called Habusake. It's basically a whole rattlesnake sitting in alcohol. The poison is leached into the drink. It is very strong and some people have done strange things when they blacked-out after drinking too much..

[napornik]

"Don't go fighting a land war in Asia".... unless your father's name is Philip.
If that's the case, ignore the saying and just go nuts.
They'll name cities after you.

[JamesRoyceDawson]

Also don't attack Russia in the winter

[ElongatedVowels]

Um...Mithridates was King of Pontus...Which is in modern day Turkey, not Syria. The Seleucids, what little was left of them, ruled Syria at the time.

[worldofstories]

antibodies are really finicky when it comes to poisons they work but some of time cause side effects such as allergic reactions and very rarely ever cause yourself to get poisoned from the very antibodies it created. the body usually works for the time it is needed without planing ahead.

[thatguyblue]

As a snake nerd I love how you handled this one!

[howlers]

Yep Mithridates was famous for poisoning his enemies and feared being poisoned so much he tried to come up with a specific concoction that would grant him immunity to all known poisons.

[timporter]

What about President Snow, in the hunger games books. He poisoned his meals and then afterward gave himself the antidote after. What would be the effects of this on and in your body?

[Agriking]

Hahaha, "daddy like." Well the idea of building up a poison immunity has put me right in a festive mood, so happy holidays, Mr. Hill, because Christmas!

[cloudcutlip]

My Grandfather used to take arsenic in the spring every year. He would put a drop on his finger and every few days he would add another drop to a different finger, until he was putting a drop on each finger. He did because he mixed his own pesticide which had arsenic in it, so when the wind would blow some of it on him while spraying it wouldn't bother him.

[bettaandfrogmom]

I love the little bounce at 0:19. <3