/oss/taxonomy/term/2870/all en /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-history/different-twist-dose-makes-poison <p>Mithridates VI ruled the ancient Asian kingdom of Pontus in the first century. The king was terrified of being poisoned—not an unreasonable worry, given that assassins at the time were adept at using plant and animal toxins to dispatch enemies. But Mithridates was determined not to be done in by poison hemlock, henbane, snake venom or any other such poison. He had an idea: Why not try to protect himself by taking small amounts of poisons to develop a tolerance to larger doses? Today we know that it is possible to develop immunity to substances; after all, that’s how allergy shots work.</p> Wed, 08 Mar 2023 16:00:38 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9428 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health-and-nutrition/what-you-need-know-about-poinsettias-and-poison <p><span>If you have avoided having poinsettias in your home because of small children or animals, you’re not alone. But despite the commonly held belief that poinsettias are toxic, they aren’t. This myth seems to </span><a href="https://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/poinsettia.asp">have originated in 1919 </a><span>with a misattributed poisoning of a child and perhaps persisted because </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbiaceae">several members of the same family</a><span> as the flower are quite toxic. </span></p> Tue, 05 Dec 2017 15:48:18 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 6840 at /oss