According to legend, Italian women used to put a drop of the juice from the berry of the belladonna plant directly into their eyes to make their pupils larger. When we first discussed this in class, I made a mental note to research on this fascinating plant. What I found was pretty shocking: apparently, the belladonna plant is poisonous! In fact, it is one of the most toxic plants found in the Western Hemisphere. However, it seems that the belladonna plant has medicinal purposes as well! If one founds himself with opium poisoning, the belladonna plant is used as an antidote. Also, optometrists extract atropine from the plant and use it to dilate patients’ pupils to examine their retinas. Also, in one crazy website I found, someone reported using the belladonna plant as a hallucinogenic drug! He did not recommend it though because “the places belladonna takes you, you were not meant to go.”
This week’s lecture discussed the variations in pupil size that supposedly lead to attraction in the opposite sex. Dilated pupils make someone appear more sexually aroused. Therefore if women had dilated pupils, they would be indirectly advertising their interest in the opposite sex. Thus, it would make them more appealing and desirable. BBW Magazine writes that if a woman wants to know if her partner is attracted to her, all she needs to look at is the size of his pupils. They also mention looking for watery eyes. Another physiological reaction to attraction, eyes will water to clean themselves so they can get a better picture of their heart’s desire. Clearly our eyes hold a lot of power when it comes to our romantic relationships.
