Break from the Grind April 2, 2013
TRIVIAL PURSUITS: Before white smoke, how was a pope election signaled?
April 2, 2013 – Before the use of white smoke, how was the election of a pope signaled?
Reported by PS
Ballots have been burned since the 1417 conclave, but the practice of using white smoke—created by adding dry straw to the ballots, or, more recently, chemicals—to signal the election of a pope was first recorded in 1914.
Before that, church bells were rung and cannons fired to signal the election of a pope.