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"How much did Father Christmas's sled cost? Nothing, it was on the house."

This one-liner is met by groans that echo through a warehouse in the capital.

This describes a joke-testing meeting with a company that produces supplies for gatherings. Its catalogue features festive crackers.

The company's owner smiles, almost apologetically at the gag. But the joke has made the cut and will feature in upcoming crackers.

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

The secret to a good Christmas cracker joke is not the identical as a stand-up gag in itself. It is all about the setting - in this case, the shared laughter of the holiday dinner table with grandparents, children and possibly neighbours.

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

The Neuroscience Behind Communal Amusement

Coming together to enjoy shared laughter is not only ancient, experts argue, it is probably to be older than humanity.

"So when you are chuckling with people at the Christmas dinner you are dropping into what's almost certainly a really ancient mammalian social sound," says a neuroscience expert.

Communal amusement, she says, aids in make and maintain social bonds between individuals.

Researchers have discovered that a absence of such interactions can significantly damage both psychological and bodily well-being.

"The people you talk to, and laugh with, it leads to enhanced amounts of 'happy chemical' release," she adds.

Endorphins are the body's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to reduce tension and discomfort and in response to pleasurable activities, such as chuckling with friends over a truly terrible Christmas cracker joke.

"You're not just chuckling at a foolish joke with a holiday cracker," she states. "You are in fact performing a lot of the really vital task of making, maintaining the connections you have with the people you care about."

Which Occurs Inside the Mind?

But what is actually taking place within the mind when we listen to a joke?

An awful lot occurs in reaction to comedy, it transpires.

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

The research involves imaging the brains of healthy subjects and then exposing them to a database of humorous words, accompanied by either a non-emotional sound, or pre-recorded laughter.

"During the study we observed a really interesting activation pattern of activation," says the professor.

A joke stimulates not just the areas of the mind in charge of auditory processing and understanding language, but also neural regions associated with both planning and starting motion and those involved in vision and memory.

Combine all of this as a whole, and individuals hearing a pun have a sophisticated set of brain reactions that underpin the laughter we hear.

The Infectious Nature of Chuckles

Researchers found that when a humorous word is paired with laughter there is a greater reaction in the brain than the same word when followed by a neutral sound.

"This activation occurred in parts of the mind that you would employ to contort your face into a grin or a laugh," the professor explains.

It means people are not just reacting to funny words, they are reacting to the amusement that follows them.

Laughter, says the expert, can be infectious.

So what does this mean for the chuckles found at a holiday gathering?

"You laugh more when you know others," she notes, "and laughter increases further when you like them or care for them."

When it comes to Christmas cracker jokes, she says, the positive factor is more likely to be triggered not by the gag in itself, but from the reaction to it.

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

The Quest for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Is it possible to find the perfect joke?

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

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

Over 40,000 jokes submitted, with ratings provided by hundreds of thousands of participants globally, he has a clearer understanding than most as to what succeeds and what does not.

The perfect festive cracker joke must be short, he says.

"They must also need to be poor jokes, jokes that make us moan," he adds.

The more "terrible" the joke, he says the better.

"The reason is that if nobody laughs – it's the gag's shortcoming, not yours.

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

"That's a common moment around the table and I think it's wonderful."