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

This one-liner is met by moans that resonate through a storage facility in London.

We're at a humor-evaluation meeting with a company that produces products for social events. Its repertoire features Christmas crackers.

The firm's founder grins, nearly apologetically at the joke. But the joke has been selected and will appear in upcoming crackers.

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

The key to a great holiday cracker pun is not the identical as a stand-up joke in itself. It is entirely about the setting - in this instance, the communal amusement of the Christmas meal with elders, children and possibly friends.

"The goal is for the gag to be a thing that brings the child in harmony with the grandparent," she adds.

The Neuroscience Of Communal Laughter

Gathering to enjoy shared amusement is not only ancient, experts argue, it is probably to be older than humanity.

"So when you are laughing with people at the Christmas dinner you are engaging in what's very likely a really primordial mammal social sound," says a neuroscience expert.

Shared laughter, she explains, helps forge and strengthen social connections between people.

Scientists have found that a absence of such social exchanges can significantly harm both psychological and bodily well-being.

"Those you talk to, and laugh with, it leads to increased amounts of 'happy chemical' uptake," she adds.

These natural chemicals are the body's "feel-good compounds" and are released both to alleviate stress and pain and in response to enjoyable activities, such as chuckling with friends over a particularly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"It's not simply laughing at a foolish joke with a holiday cracker," she states. "You are actually doing a lot of the truly vital task of making, maintaining the connections you have with those you care about."

Which Occurs In the Brain?

But what is truly happening within the brain when we listen to a gag?

A tremendous amount occurs in reaction to comedy, it turns out.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a type of neural imager which indicates which areas of the mind are working harder, scientists have been able to map the areas that get more blood.

The research entails imaging the brains of healthy subjects and then exposing them to a database of humorous phrases, paired with either a neutral sound, or recorded chuckles.

"During the study we got a very fascinating pattern of neural activity," notes the professor.

A gag stimulates not just the parts of the brain in charge of hearing and interpreting speech, but also neural areas involved in both preparation and starting movement and those involved in sight and memory.

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

The Contagious Nature of Laughter

Researchers discovered that when a humorous phrase is combined with chuckles there is a stronger response in the brain than the same word when followed by a neutral sound.

"This was in parts of the mind that you would use to move your face into a smile or a chuckle," the professor explains.

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

Amusement, says the expert, can be infectious.

So what does this imply for the laughter found at a Christmas table?

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

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

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

The Quest for the Ideal Festive Pun

Will we ever find the ultimate joke?

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

Years ago, a psychologist set up a scientific project for the planet's most humorous joke.

More than 40,000 jokes later, with ratings lodged by 350,000 participants globally, he has a clearer idea than most as to what succeeds and what does not.

The ideal Christmas cracker pun must be short, he explains.

"But they also be bad jokes, jokes that cause us to moan," he adds.

The increasingly "awful" the gag, he says the more effective.

"This is because if no-one laughs – it's the joke's fault, not yours.

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

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