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

This joke is met by moans that resonate through a storage facility in London.

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

The firm's founder grins, almost apologetically at the gag. But the pun has made the cut and will feature in upcoming crackers.

"The success is gauged by the gag by the volume of moans and the loudness of the groans around the table," the founder says.

The secret to a great Christmas cracker joke is not the same as a good gag in itself. It is entirely about the setting - in this instance, the communal laughter of the holiday meal with elders, children and possibly neighbours.

"You want the gag to be something that unites the eight-year-old in harmony with the grandparent," she adds.

The Neuroscience Of Communal Amusement

Gathering to enjoy communal amusement is not only ancient, scientists argue, it is probably to be pre-human.

"So when you are chuckling with people at the holiday table you are engaging in what's very likely a truly ancient mammal play sound," says a neuroscience expert.

Communal laughter, she says, aids in forge and strengthen social bonds between individuals.

Scientists have discovered that a lack of such interactions can significantly harm both psychological and bodily health.

"The people you converse with, and laugh with, it results in increased levels of endorphin release," she adds.

Endorphins are the brain's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to alleviate stress and pain and in reaction to pleasurable activities, such as laughing with friends over a truly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"It's not simply chuckling at a foolish joke with a Christmas cracker," she states. "You are in fact performing a lot of the really important task of making, maintaining the social bonds you have with those you care about."

Which Occurs Inside the Brain?

But what is truly happening inside the mind when we hear a joke?

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

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a type of brain scanner which shows which areas of the mind are more active, scientists have been able to map the regions that receive more blood.

The research entails scanning the brains of volunteer subjects and then subjecting them to a collection of humorous phrases, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or recorded chuckles.

"During the study we got a really interesting activation pattern of activation," notes the professor.

A joke stimulates not just the parts of the mind in charge of auditory processing and understanding speech, but also brain regions involved in both preparation and starting motion and those linked to vision and memory.

Put these elements as a whole, and individuals hearing a pun have a complex series of brain responses that underpin the amusement we experience.

The Infectious Nature of Laughter

Researchers found that when a funny word is combined with chuckles there is a greater response in the brain than the same word when accompanied by a neutral sound.

"This was in parts of the mind that you would employ to contort your expression into a grin or a chuckle," she says.

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

Laughter, according to the professor, can be infectious.

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

"You laugh harder when you know people," she notes, "and you laugh more when you like them or love them."

When it comes to Christmas cracker puns, she explains, the feel-good factor is more probable to be triggered not by the joke in itself, but from the reaction to it.

"The laughter is key. The gag is the terrible holiday cracker pun, and it's just a pretext to chuckle together."

The Search for the Ideal Cracker Joke

Will we ever discover the ultimate joke?

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

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

More than 40,000 gags submitted, with ratings lodged by 350,000 people globally, he has a better idea than many as to what works and what does not.

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

"But they also be poor jokes, puns that cause us to groan," he adds.

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

"This is because if no-one finds it funny – it's the joke's fault, not your own.

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

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