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

This joke is greeted with moans that resonate through a warehouse in the capital.

We're at a joke-testing meeting with a firm that makes products for social events. Its repertoire features Christmas crackers.

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

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

The key to a good holiday cracker joke is not the same as a stand-up joke per se. It is entirely about the context - in this case, the communal amusement of the holiday meal with elders, kids and possibly neighbours.

"You want the joke to be something that unites the child in harmony with the 80-year-old," she states.

The Science Behind Communal Amusement

Coming together to experience communal laughter is not only ancient, scientists argue, it is likely to be older than humanity.

"So when you are laughing with others around the Christmas dinner you are engaging in what's very likely a truly ancient mammalian play sound," says a professor.

Shared amusement, she says, aids in make and maintain social bonds between people.

Researchers have found that a lack of these social exchanges can significantly harm mental and physical health.

"The people you talk to, and share laughter with, it results in increased levels of endorphin uptake," the professor adds.

These natural chemicals are the brain's "feel-good compounds" and are released both to reduce tension and discomfort and in reaction to enjoyable activities, such as laughing with loved ones over a particularly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"You're not just laughing at a silly joke with a Christmas cracker," the expert states. "You are actually performing a lot of the really important task of making, maintaining the social bonds you have with those you care about."

What Occurs Inside the Mind?

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

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

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a kind of brain scanner which shows which parts of the mind are working harder, researchers have been able to map the areas that get more blood flow.

The research involves scanning the minds of healthy subjects and then exposing them to a database of humorous phrases, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or recorded laughter.

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

A joke activates not just the parts of the brain in charge of hearing and interpreting speech, but also brain areas associated with both preparation and initiating motion and those linked to vision and recall.

Combine all of this as a whole, and individuals hearing a pun have a complex series of neural responses that support the laughter we hear.

The Contagious Nature of Chuckles

Scientists discovered that when a humorous word is combined with chuckles there is a stronger response in the brain than the identical word when accompanied by a neutral sound.

"This activation occurred in areas of the brain that you would employ to move your face into a smile or a chuckle," the professor says.

It means we are not just responding to funny jokes, they are responding to the amusement that follows them.

Amusement, according to the expert, can be contagious.

So what does this mean for the laughter found at a Christmas gathering?

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

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

"The laughter is key. The gag is the terrible Christmas cracker joke, and it's just a reason to laugh as a group."

The Quest for the Ideal Festive Pun

Is it possible to find the perfect gag?

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

In 2001, a psychologist set up a research search for the planet's most humorous joke.

More than 40,000 jokes submitted, with ratings lodged by hundreds of thousands of participants globally, he has a clearer idea than most as to what succeeds and what fails.

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

"But they also need to be bad jokes, puns that make us moan," he adds.

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

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

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

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