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

This quip is met by groans that resonate through a storage facility in the capital.

This describes a joke-testing session with a company that produces supplies for social events. Its repertoire includes Christmas crackers.

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

"You measure the gag by the volume of moans and the intensity of the groans at the table," the founder says.

The key to a good holiday cracker pun is not the same as a stand-up gag in itself. It is all about the context - in this case, the shared amusement of the holiday meal with grandparents, children and possibly neighbours.

"You want the joke to be something that unites the eight-year-old together with the grandparent," she states.

The Science Of Shared Amusement

Gathering to experience communal laughter is not only ancient, experts argue, it is likely to be older than humanity.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with people around the holiday table you are engaging in what's very likely a really ancient mammal social sound," explains a neuroscience expert.

Shared laughter, she says, aids in forge and strengthen social bonds between people.

Scientists have discovered that a absence of these social exchanges can significantly damage mental and physical health.

"Those you converse with, and share laughter with, it leads to enhanced amounts of endorphin 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 enjoyable activities, such as chuckling with loved ones over a truly terrible Christmas cracker joke.

"You're not just chuckling at a silly joke with a holiday cracker," she states. "You are actually performing a lot of the really vital task of building, preserving the social bonds you have with those you care about."

What Occurs In the Brain?

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

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

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

Testing involves scanning the brains of volunteer participants and then exposing them to a collection of humorous phrases, accompanied by either a neutral sound, or pre-recorded laughter.

"During the study we got a very fascinating activation pattern of activation," says the professor.

A gag stimulates not just the areas of the mind responsible for hearing and understanding speech, but also brain regions involved in both preparation and starting movement and those linked to sight and recall.

Combine all of this together, and individuals hearing a joke have a sophisticated series of neural responses that underpin the laughter we experience.

The Contagious Power of Chuckles

Researchers found that when a funny phrase is paired with chuckles there is a stronger reaction in the mind than the same word when followed by a non-emotional sound.

"This was in areas of the mind that you would use to move your face into a smile or a laugh," the professor says.

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

Amusement, says the professor, can be infectious.

So what does this mean for the chuckles heard around a Christmas gathering?

"You laugh more when you know others," she says, "and you laugh further when you are fond of them or love them."

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

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

The Search for the Ideal Festive Pun

Will we ever discover the perfect gag?

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

In 2001, a psychologist established a scientific project for the planet's most humorous gag.

Over 40,000 gags later, with scores provided by 350,000 participants around the world, he has a clearer understanding than most as to what works and what does not.

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

"They must also be bad jokes, jokes that make us groan," he continues.

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

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

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

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