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"How much did Santa's sled cost? Zero, it was on the house."

This quip is greeted with moans that resonate through a storage facility in the capital.

This describes a joke-testing session with a firm that makes supplies for social events. Its catalogue includes Christmas crackers.

The firm's owner grins, nearly sheepishly at the joke. But the pun has been selected and will appear in future crackers.

"You measure the joke by the volume of moans and the loudness of the groans around the table," she says.

The key to a great holiday cracker pun is not the same as a good gag per se. It is all about the context - in this instance, the shared laughter of the holiday meal with elders, children and potentially neighbours.

"The goal is for the gag to be something that unites the eight-year-old in harmony with the 80-year-old," she adds.

The Science Behind Communal Amusement

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

"So when you are laughing with people at the Christmas table you are dropping into what's almost certainly a truly ancient mammal play sound," says a professor.

Communal laughter, she says, aids in make and maintain social connections between individuals.

Scientists have discovered that a absence of such interactions can seriously harm both psychological and bodily well-being.

"Those you talk to, and laugh with, it leads to enhanced levels of 'happy chemical' release," she adds.

Endorphins are the brain's "feel-good compounds" and are released both to alleviate tension and discomfort and in reaction to enjoyable experiences, such as chuckling with friends over a particularly awful festive cracker gag.

"You're not just laughing at a foolish joke with a holiday cracker," the expert says. "You are actually performing a lot of the really important task of building, preserving the social bonds you have with the people you love."

Which Happens In the Brain?

But what is truly happening within the mind when we listen to a joke?

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

Employing brain scanning technology, a type of brain scanner which shows which parts of the brain are working harder, scientists have been able to map the areas that get more blood flow.

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

"During the study we observed a really fascinating activation pattern of activation," notes the professor.

A gag activates not just the parts of the brain in charge of hearing and interpreting language, but also brain areas associated with both preparation and starting motion and those involved in sight and recall.

Put all of this as a whole, and individuals listening to a joke have a sophisticated series of brain reactions that underpin the amusement we hear.

The Infectious Nature of Laughter

Scientists discovered that when a humorous phrase is paired with laughter there is a stronger reaction in the mind than the same phrase when followed by a non-emotional sound.

"This activation occurred in parts of the brain that you would use to move your face into a smile or a laugh," she explains.

It means we are not just reacting to humorous jokes, they are reacting to the amusement that accompanies them.

Laughter, says the expert, can be infectious.

So what does this mean for the laughter heard at a holiday table?

"People laugh more when you know people," she notes, "and you laugh more when you are fond of them or care for them."

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

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

The Quest for the Ideal Cracker Joke

Is it possible to find the ultimate gag?

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

In 2001, a psychologist set up a scientific search for the world's funniest joke.

Over 40,000 gags later, with scores provided by hundreds of thousands of participants globally, he has a better idea than many as to what works and what does not.

The perfect festive cracker pun must be brief, he says.

"They must also need to be bad gags, puns that cause us to moan," he adds.

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

"This is because if nobody laughs – it's the joke's fault, not yours.

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

"It creates a common moment around the gathering and I believe it's wonderful."