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"What was the price did Santa's sled cost? Zero, it was on the house."

This joke is greeted with moans that resonate through a storage facility in London.

This describes a joke-testing session with a firm that makes supplies for gatherings. Its catalogue features Christmas crackers.

The company's founder grins, almost sheepishly at the joke. But the joke has been selected and will feature in future crackers.

"The success is gauged by the gag by the number of groans and the loudness of the groans around the table," the founder says.

The secret to a good Christmas cracker joke is not the identical as a stand-up gag in itself. It is entirely about the context - in this instance, the communal laughter of the Christmas meal with elders, kids and potentially neighbours.

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

The Neuroscience Behind Shared Amusement

Gathering to experience shared amusement is not only ancient, scientists argue, it is probably to be pre-human.

"Therefore when you are laughing with others at the Christmas table you are engaging in what's very likely a truly ancient mammalian play sound," explains a professor.

Communal amusement, she explains, helps forge and strengthen social bonds between people.

Researchers have discovered that a absence of these interactions can seriously damage mental and physical health.

"The people you talk to, and share laughter with, it results in increased levels of 'happy chemical' uptake," she continues.

Endorphins are the body's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to reduce stress and pain and in reaction to enjoyable activities, such as chuckling with loved ones over a particularly terrible festive cracker gag.

"It's not simply chuckling at a foolish joke with a Christmas cracker," the expert states. "You are actually performing a lot of the really important task of building, preserving the connections you have with those you love."

What Occurs In the Brain?

But what is actually taking place inside the mind when we listen to a gag?

An awful lot occurs in response to humour, it transpires.

Employing brain scanning technology, a kind of neural imager which indicates which areas of the mind are working harder, researchers have been able to map the areas that receive more blood flow.

Testing entails imaging the minds of volunteer subjects and then subjecting them to a collection of humorous phrases, accompanied by either a non-emotional sound, or pre-recorded laughter.

"In the scanner we observed a really interesting pattern of neural activity," says the neuroscientist.

A gag activates not just the areas of the brain responsible for auditory processing and interpreting speech, but also brain areas involved in both preparation and starting motion and those involved in sight and recall.

Put all of this together, and people listening to a joke have a complex set of brain responses that support the laughter we hear.

The Infectious Power of Chuckles

Scientists discovered that when a funny phrase is paired with chuckles there is a greater reaction in the brain than the identical word when accompanied by a non-emotional sound.

"This activation occurred in parts of the brain that you would use to contort your face into a smile or a laugh," she explains.

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

Amusement, says the professor, can be contagious.

So what does this mean for the laughter heard at a holiday gathering?

"You laugh more when you are familiar with people," she says, "and you laugh more when you like them or care for them."

When it comes to festive cracker jokes, she explains, the feel-good effect is more likely to be triggered not by the gag in itself, but from the response to it.

"The laughter is key. The joke is the dreadful holiday cracker pun, and it's just a reason to chuckle together."

The Quest for the Ideal Cracker Joke

Is it possible to find the ultimate gag?

Likely not, but that has not prevented experts from attempting to.

Years ago, a professor set up a scientific search for the world's most humorous joke.

More than 40,000 jokes submitted, with scores provided by 350,000 participants around the world, he has a better understanding than most as to what works and what does not.

The perfect Christmas cracker pun needs to be brief, he says.

"They must also be poor jokes, puns that cause us to groan," he continues.

The more "awful" the joke, he says the more effective.

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

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

"That's a common experience around the table and I think it's lovely."