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

This joke is met by groans that resonate through a warehouse in the capital.

This describes a joke-testing meeting with a company that produces products for gatherings. Its repertoire includes Christmas crackers.

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

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

The secret to a good holiday cracker pun is not the identical as a good gag per se. It is all about the setting - in this case, the communal amusement of the Christmas dinner table with grandparents, kids and potentially neighbours.

"The goal is for the gag to be something that brings the eight-year-old together with the grandparent," she states.

The Neuroscience Behind Communal Laughter

Gathering to enjoy communal amusement is not only nothing new, experts say, it is likely to be older than humanity.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with others at the holiday table you are engaging in what's very likely a really primordial mammal social sound," explains a professor.

Communal laughter, she says, helps make and maintain social bonds between people.

Scientists have found that a absence of these social exchanges can significantly damage mental and physical well-being.

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

Endorphins are the body's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to reduce tension and discomfort and in reaction to enjoyable experiences, such as laughing with loved ones over a particularly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"You're not just chuckling at a foolish pun with a holiday cracker," she states. "You are actually performing a lot of the really vital task of building, preserving the connections you have with the people you love."

What Happens In the Brain?

But what is truly happening inside the brain when we hear a gag?

A tremendous amount occurs in reaction to humour, it turns out.

Employing brain scanning technology, a kind of brain scanner which shows which areas of the brain are more active, scientists have been able to map the areas that get more blood.

Testing entails scanning the minds of volunteer participants and then exposing them to a database of humorous phrases, accompanied by either a non-emotional sound, or recorded laughter.

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

A gag activates not just the parts of the mind responsible for hearing and understanding language, but also brain regions associated with both preparation and starting movement and those linked to vision and memory.

Put all of this together, and individuals listening to a pun have a complex set of neural reactions that support the amusement we experience.

The Infectious Nature of Chuckles

Scientists found that when a funny phrase is combined with chuckles there is a greater response in the mind than the identical word when followed by a neutral sound.

"This was in areas of the mind that you would employ to contort your expression into a grin or a laugh," the professor says.

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

Laughter, says the expert, can be contagious.

So what does this mean for the laughter found around a holiday gathering?

"You laugh more when you know people," she says, "and laughter increases more when you like them or care for them."

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

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

The Quest for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Is it possible to find the perfect joke?

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

Years ago, a professor established a research project for the planet's funniest joke.

More than tens of thousands of gags later, with scores provided by 350,000 people globally, he has a clearer understanding than many as to what works and what does not.

The perfect Christmas cracker pun must be short, he explains.

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

The increasingly "terrible" the gag, he says the better.

"This is because if no-one laughs – 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.

"It creates a shared moment around the table and I believe it's wonderful."