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"What was the price did Santa's sled cost? Nothing, it was on the house."

This one-liner is greeted with moans that resonate through a warehouse in the capital.

We're at a humor-evaluation meeting with a firm that produces products for gatherings. Its catalogue features Christmas crackers.

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

"The success is gauged by the joke by the number of moans and the intensity of the groans at the table," she explains.

The secret to a good holiday cracker joke is not the identical as a good gag in itself. It is all about the setting - in this case, the communal amusement of the holiday dinner table with elders, children and possibly neighbours.

"You want the gag to be a thing that brings the eight-year-old in harmony with the grandparent," she adds.

The Science Of Communal Laughter

Gathering to enjoy communal amusement is not only ancient, experts say, it is likely to be pre-human.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with others at the Christmas table you are dropping into what's very likely a really primordial mammal play vocalisation," explains a professor.

Communal amusement, she says, aids in forge and strengthen social bonds between individuals.

Scientists have discovered that a lack of these social exchanges can seriously damage both psychological and bodily health.

"Those you talk to, and share laughter with, it leads to enhanced levels of 'happy chemical' release," the professor continues.

These natural chemicals are the body's "happy chemicals" and are released both to reduce stress and pain and in response to pleasurable activities, such as laughing with loved ones over a truly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"You're not just laughing at a silly joke with a holiday cracker," the expert states. "You are in fact doing a lot of the really important task of making, maintaining the social bonds you have with those you love."

What Occurs Inside the Brain?

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

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

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a type of brain scanner which shows which areas of the mind are working harder, researchers have been able to chart the regions that receive more blood flow.

The research entails imaging the minds of volunteer subjects and then exposing them to a database of funny words, paired with either a neutral sound, or pre-recorded chuckles.

"During the study we observed a really interesting activation pattern of neural activity," says the neuroscientist.

A joke activates not just the parts of the brain in charge of hearing and interpreting speech, but also brain areas involved in both planning and starting motion and those linked to vision and memory.

Combine these elements together, and people hearing a pun have a sophisticated series of brain responses that support the amusement we hear.

The Contagious Nature of Laughter

Researchers discovered that when a humorous word is combined with laughter there is a stronger response in the brain than the identical word when accompanied by a neutral sound.

"This activation occurred in areas of the mind that you would employ to move your face into a grin or a chuckle," the professor says.

It indicates we are not just reacting to humorous words, they are reacting to the amusement that follows them.

Laughter, says the expert, can be infectious.

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

"You laugh more when you are familiar with people," she notes, "and you laugh more when you are fond of them or love them."

When it comes to Christmas cracker puns, she says, the feel-good effect is more likely to be caused not by the joke itself, but from the response to it.

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

The Quest for the Ideal Cracker Joke

Is it possible to discover the ultimate gag?

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

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

Over tens of thousands of gags later, with ratings provided by 350,000 people globally, he has a clearer understanding than most as to what succeeds and what does not.

The ideal Christmas cracker joke needs to be short, he says.

"But they also need to be poor jokes, jokes that cause us to groan," he continues.

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

"This is because if no-one laughs – it's the gag's shortcoming, not your own.

"The fascinating part about the Christmas cracker puns is that none of us considers them funny.

"It creates a shared moment around the table and I believe it's wonderful."