Why does mercury not release hydrogen from dilute acids as zinc and cadmium do?

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A periodic table element box for mercury shows its symbol Hg, atomic number 80, atomic weight 200.592, electron configuration, and name. Icons indicate mercury is a transition metal, liquid at room temperature, has a rhombohedral crystal structure, and is weakly basic. — mercury Properties of mercury.

Mercury does not release hydrogen from dilute acids because it has a positive reduction potential, making it inert toward the aqueous hydrogen ion.1

In contrast, metals like zinc and cadmium have negative reduction potentials, which means they are more easily oxidized and can, in principle, displace hydrogen from a strong acid solution. While zinc and cadmium readily evolve hydrogen when treated with dilute acids, mercury is anomalous in this regard and does not produce hydrogen under the same conditions.12