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

This one-liner is met by moans that resonate through a warehouse in the capital.

We're at a humor-evaluation session with a company that produces supplies for gatherings. Its catalogue includes Christmas crackers.

The company's founder smiles, nearly apologetically at the joke. But the joke has made the cut and will appear in future crackers.

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

The secret to a good holiday cracker pun is not the identical as a stand-up joke in itself. It is entirely about the context - in this instance, the shared amusement of the holiday dinner table with grandparents, kids and potentially neighbours.

"You want the gag to be a thing that brings the eight-year-old together with the 80-year-old," she adds.

The Science Of Communal Amusement

Coming together to enjoy communal laughter is not only nothing new, scientists say, it is likely to be pre-human.

"So when you are laughing with people around the Christmas dinner you are dropping into what's very likely a really primordial mammal play vocalisation," explains a neuroscience expert.

Shared amusement, she explains, helps make and maintain social bonds between people.

Scientists have found that a lack of such interactions can seriously damage both psychological and bodily well-being.

"The people you talk to, and laugh with, it results in increased levels of endorphin uptake," 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 enjoyable activities, such as chuckling with loved ones over a particularly terrible festive cracker joke.

"You're not just chuckling at a foolish joke with a holiday cracker," the expert states. "You are in fact performing a lot of the really important work of building, preserving the connections you have with those you care about."

Which Occurs Inside the Brain?

But what is truly taking place within the brain when we hear a joke?

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

Employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a type of neural imager which shows which parts of the brain are working harder, scientists have been able to chart the regions that receive more blood flow.

Testing entails imaging the brains of healthy participants and then exposing them to a database of funny words, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or pre-recorded chuckles.

"In the scanner we got a really fascinating activation pattern of neural activity," notes the professor.

A gag activates not just the parts of the brain responsible for hearing and understanding speech, but also neural regions involved in both preparation and initiating movement and those linked to sight and memory.

Put these elements as a whole, and individuals listening to a pun have a sophisticated set of neural reactions that support the laughter we hear.

The Contagious Power of Chuckles

Researchers found that when a funny phrase is combined with chuckles there is a stronger reaction in the brain than the same phrase when accompanied by a neutral sound.

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

It means we are not just responding to funny jokes, they are responding to the laughter that accompanies them.

Amusement, says the professor, can be infectious.

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

"People laugh harder when you are familiar with people," she notes, "and laughter increases further when you like them or care for them."

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

"The laughter is key. The gag is the dreadful Christmas cracker pun, and it's just a reason to laugh together."

The Search for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Is it possible to discover the ultimate joke?

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

In 2001, a professor established a scientific search for the planet's funniest gag.

Over tens of thousands of jokes submitted, with scores provided by hundreds of thousands of people globally, he has a clearer idea than most as to what succeeds and what fails.

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

"But they also be poor jokes, jokes that make us groan," he continues.

The more "terrible" the gag, he states the better.

"The reason is that if no-one finds it funny – it's the gag's fault, not your own.

"The fascinating part about the holiday cracker puns is that not one person find them humorous.

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