Waiting for the smoke to clear

After two rounds of unsuccessful papal balloting one thing does seem to be working. The Vatican appears to have greatly improved its famous system of smoke signals, black for inconclusive ballots and white for a new pope. In past years the smoke was more often a shade of gray and the crowds were left to guess if it was supposed to be white or black. The cardinals however began adding chemicals that left no doubt as to what color the smoke was following the last two rounds of voting. It was black.