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

This joke is met by moans that echo through a warehouse in the capital.

This describes a joke-testing meeting with a firm that makes products for gatherings. Its repertoire features Christmas crackers.

The firm's founder smiles, almost apologetically at the joke. But the joke has been selected and will appear in future crackers.

"You measure the joke by the number of moans and the loudness of the groans around the table," she says.

The key to a good holiday cracker joke is not the identical as a good gag per se. It is entirely about the context - in this instance, the shared laughter of the Christmas dinner table with elders, children and potentially neighbours.

"The goal is for the joke to be something that unites the child together with the grandparent," she states.

The Science Behind Shared Amusement

Gathering to experience shared amusement is not only nothing new, scientists say, it is likely to be older than humanity.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with others at the holiday table you are engaging in what's very likely a truly primordial mammalian play sound," says a professor.

Communal amusement, she explains, helps make and maintain social connections between individuals.

Researchers have discovered that a absence of such interactions can significantly damage both psychological and bodily well-being.

"Those you talk to, and laugh with, it leads to increased amounts of 'happy chemical' release," the professor adds.

These natural chemicals are the body's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to alleviate tension and discomfort and in response to enjoyable experiences, such as laughing with loved ones over a truly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"It's not simply chuckling at a silly joke with a holiday cracker," she states. "You are actually performing a lot of the truly vital work of making, maintaining the connections you have with the people you care about."

What Occurs Inside the Brain?

But what is truly taking place inside the brain when we listen to a gag?

A tremendous amount occurs in reaction to comedy, it transpires.

Employing brain scanning technology, a type of neural imager which shows which parts of the brain are more active, researchers have been able to chart the areas that get more blood flow.

Testing involves scanning the minds of volunteer participants and then subjecting them to a collection of humorous phrases, paired with either a neutral sound, or recorded chuckles.

"During the study we got a very interesting pattern of neural activity," says the professor.

A gag stimulates not just the parts of the brain in charge of hearing and interpreting language, but also neural regions involved in both preparation and initiating movement and those involved in vision and recall.

Combine these elements together, and people listening to a pun have a sophisticated series of neural reactions that underpin the amusement we experience.

The Contagious Power of Chuckles

Scientists found that when a humorous word is combined with laughter there is a stronger response in the mind than the identical word when accompanied by a non-emotional sound.

"This was in areas of the brain that you would employ to move your face into a grin or a laugh," she explains.

It means we are not just reacting to humorous jokes, they are responding to the amusement that accompanies them.

Amusement, according to the expert, can be infectious.

So what does this imply for the chuckles found around a holiday gathering?

"People laugh harder when you know others," she says, "and you laugh further when you are fond of them or care for them."

When it comes to Christmas cracker puns, she explains, the positive effect is more probable to be triggered not by the gag 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 laugh together."

The Search for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Will we ever find the ultimate gag?

Probably not, but that has not stopped researchers from trying to.

In 2001, a professor set up a research search for the world's most humorous joke.

More than 40,000 gags submitted, with scores provided by hundreds of thousands of participants globally, he has a better understanding than most as to what works and what does not.

The ideal festive cracker joke must be short, he explains.

"They must also be poor gags, jokes that make us moan," he adds.

The increasingly "terrible" the joke, he states the more effective.

"This is because if nobody finds it funny – it's the gag's fault, not your own.

"What's interesting about the Christmas cracker jokes is that none of us find them humorous.

"It creates a shared moment at the gathering and I believe it's lovely."