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"How much did Father Christmas's sled cost? Nothing, it was on the house."

This joke is met by moans that resonate through a storage facility in the capital.

This describes a humor-evaluation session with a company that produces products for social events. Its repertoire includes festive crackers.

The company's founder grins, almost apologetically at the gag. But the pun has made the cut and will appear in upcoming crackers.

"The success is gauged by the joke by the volume of groans and the loudness of the groans at the table," she says.

The key to a good holiday cracker joke is not the identical as a good joke per se. It is entirely about the context - in this case, the shared amusement of the Christmas dinner table with elders, kids and possibly neighbours.

"The goal is for the joke to be something that unites the eight-year-old together with the 80-year-old," she adds.

The Neuroscience Of Communal Laughter

Coming together to enjoy shared laughter is not only ancient, scientists say, it is probably to be older than humanity.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with people at the Christmas dinner you are dropping into what's very likely a really primordial mammal social sound," says a professor.

Shared laughter, she says, helps make and maintain social connections between individuals.

Researchers have discovered that a lack of these interactions can significantly harm mental and physical well-being.

"The people you converse with, and laugh with, it results in increased levels of endorphin release," the professor adds.

These natural chemicals are the brain's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to alleviate tension and discomfort and in reaction to pleasurable activities, such as laughing with loved ones over a particularly awful Christmas cracker gag.

"It's not simply laughing at a silly pun with a Christmas cracker," the expert says. "You are actually doing a lot of the really important task of building, preserving the connections you have with those you care about."

Which Occurs Inside the Brain?

But what is truly happening inside the brain when we listen to a joke?

A tremendous amount happens in reaction to humour, it transpires.

Using brain scanning technology, a type of brain scanner which shows which areas of the brain are working harder, scientists have been able to map the regions that receive more blood.

The research entails imaging the minds of healthy subjects and then subjecting them to a collection of funny words, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or recorded laughter.

"During the study we got a very interesting activation pattern of activation," notes the professor.

A gag activates not just the areas of the mind in charge of hearing and interpreting speech, but also brain regions involved in both planning and starting motion and those involved in sight and recall.

Combine all of this together, and people hearing a pun have a complex set of brain reactions that support the amusement we experience.

The Infectious Nature of Laughter

Researchers discovered that when a funny phrase is paired with chuckles there is a stronger response in the mind than the identical phrase when followed by a non-emotional sound.

"This activation occurred in parts of the mind that you would employ to contort your expression into a grin or a chuckle," the professor says.

It indicates people are not just reacting to funny jokes, they are responding to the amusement that follows them.

Laughter, says the professor, can be contagious.

So what does this imply for the chuckles heard at a holiday gathering?

"You laugh harder when you are familiar with people," she says, "and laughter increases more when you like them or love them."

When it comes to festive cracker puns, she says, the feel-good factor is more probable to be caused not by the gag in itself, but from the response to it.

"It's the laughter. The joke is the terrible Christmas cracker joke, and it's just a reason to chuckle as a group."

The Search for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Is it possible to discover the perfect joke?

Likely not, but that has not stopped researchers from attempting to.

In 2001, a professor established a scientific search for the world's funniest joke.

More than 40,000 gags submitted, with scores provided by 350,000 people globally, he has a clearer idea than most as to what works and what does not.

The ideal Christmas cracker pun needs to be brief, he explains.

"They must also need to be poor gags, jokes that cause us to groan," he adds.

The more "awful" the gag, he says the better.

"This is because if nobody laughs – it's the joke's fault, not your own.

"What's interesting about the Christmas cracker puns is that not one person find them humorous.

"That's a common experience around the gathering and I believe it's lovely."