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

This quip is greeted with groans that resonate through a warehouse in the capital.

We're at a joke-testing session with a company that produces supplies for gatherings. Its catalogue includes Christmas crackers.

The firm's founder smiles, nearly sheepishly at the gag. But the joke has made the cut and will appear in future crackers.

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

The secret to a good Christmas cracker pun is not the identical as a good gag per se. It is entirely about the context - in this instance, the shared amusement of the holiday meal with grandparents, kids and possibly friends.

"The goal is for the gag to be a thing that brings the eight-year-old in harmony with the 80-year-old," she states.

The Science Behind Communal Amusement

Coming together to experience shared laughter is not only ancient, scientists argue, it is likely to be pre-human.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with people at the Christmas dinner you are engaging in what's very likely a really ancient mammalian social sound," says a neuroscience expert.

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

Researchers have found that a absence of these interactions can significantly damage mental and physical well-being.

"The people you talk to, and share laughter with, it results in increased levels of 'happy chemical' uptake," she adds.

Endorphins are the body's "happy chemicals" and are released both to alleviate stress and pain and in reaction to pleasurable experiences, such as chuckling with loved ones over a truly awful festive cracker joke.

"You're not just laughing at a silly joke with a Christmas cracker," she says. "You are actually performing a lot of the really vital work of building, preserving the connections you have with the people you love."

Which Happens Inside the Brain?

But what is actually happening within the mind when we hear a joke?

An awful lot happens in reaction to humour, it transpires.

Using brain scanning technology, a kind of brain scanner which shows which parts of the brain are working harder, scientists have been able to chart the regions that receive more blood.

Testing involves imaging the minds of healthy participants and then subjecting them to a database of funny phrases, accompanied by either a neutral sound, or recorded chuckles.

"During the study we got a very fascinating pattern of activation," notes the neuroscientist.

A joke activates not just the parts of the brain responsible for hearing and understanding speech, but also brain areas involved in both preparation and starting motion and those involved in sight and recall.

Combine these elements as a whole, and individuals hearing a joke have a complex set of brain responses that support the laughter we experience.

The Contagious Power of Chuckles

Researchers found that when a funny phrase is paired with laughter there is a stronger response in the brain than the same phrase when accompanied by a neutral sound.

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

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

Amusement, says the expert, can be contagious.

So what does this imply for the laughter found at a holiday gathering?

"You laugh more when you are familiar with others," she says, "and you laugh more when you like them or care for them."

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

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

The Quest for the Perfect Festive Pun

Will we ever find the ultimate joke?

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

Years ago, a professor set up a research search for the world's funniest joke.

Over 40,000 gags submitted, with scores lodged by 350,000 people globally, he has a clearer idea than most as to what works and what fails.

The perfect festive cracker joke needs to be short, he explains.

"They must also need to be bad jokes, jokes that cause us to groan," he continues.

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

"This is because if nobody laughs – it's the gag's shortcoming, not your own.

"What's interesting about the holiday cracker jokes is that none of us considers them funny.

"That's a shared moment around the table and I think it's lovely."