Deadly nightshade, or Atropa belladonna, is the name of the plant that enabled women in the Middle Ages to achieve a beauty mark, namely, wide pupils, but has also been used for criminal purposes since ancient times. The poison it contains, atropine, was undetectable for a long time and was therefore an ideal instrument of murder. The criminal history of atropine changed abruptly in 1819 when a certain Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge (1794–1867) came to Jena to increase his knowledge in the field of natural and medical science and possibly earn his doctorate. An unintentional self-experiment with an extract from deadly nightshade enabled Runge to draw conclusions and to save the life of his childhood friend: The latter was not recruited by Napoleon for the Russian campaign of 1812 due to temporary blindness. This experience enabled Runge to establish a reliable and rapid detection test for atropine. The great poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe experienced the test with his own eyes and was very enthusiastic. It was only later that the mode of action of atropine was discovered. Atropine could be tamed and became a valuable drug.