Johnson also noted, "A stereotypical association of the colour of the smoke — white (positive) and black (negative) — lies behind the use of the two contrasting smoke colours." Over the years ...

Tradition holds that black smoke indicates the cardinals have not yet agreed on a new leader, while white smoke signals that a new Pope has been elected. But what kind of smoke is it exactly?

While this process is held in secrecy, the rest of the world is informed on the group's daily decisions by white or black-colored smoke funneled from the top of the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke ...

Here puffs of black smoke mark voting rounds that fail to converge on a winner until the cardinals announce that they have come to an agreement by releasing a plume of white smoke, the dramatic ...

Historically, the white smoke was created by burning the ballots together with dry straw. The black smoke was made from the ballots, wet straw, and with the addition of pitch to darken the color.