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"How much did Santa's sled cost? Nothing, it was on the house."

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

This describes a humor-evaluation session with a company that produces supplies for social events. Its catalogue features festive crackers.

The firm's founder smiles, almost apologetically at the joke. But the joke has been selected and will appear in future crackers.

"The success is gauged by the joke by the number of moans and the loudness of the groans at the table," she explains.

The secret to a great holiday cracker joke is not the identical as a good joke per se. It is entirely about the setting - in this case, the communal amusement of the Christmas meal with grandparents, children and possibly friends.

"You want the joke to be a thing that unites the child in harmony with the grandparent," she states.

The Neuroscience Behind Communal Laughter

Gathering to enjoy communal laughter is not only nothing new, experts argue, it is probably to be pre-human.

"Therefore when you are laughing with others at the holiday dinner you are engaging in what's very likely a really ancient mammalian social sound," says a professor.

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

Scientists have found that a absence of such social exchanges can significantly damage both psychological and bodily health.

"Those you converse with, and share laughter with, it results in increased amounts of 'happy chemical' release," she adds.

These natural chemicals are the body's "happy chemicals" and are released both to reduce stress and pain and in reaction to pleasurable experiences, such as laughing with friends over a particularly terrible festive cracker gag.

"You're not just laughing at a foolish joke with a Christmas cracker," she says. "You are actually doing a lot of the truly vital task of making, maintaining the connections you have with those you care about."

What Happens Inside the Mind?

But what is truly taking place inside the mind when we hear a gag?

A tremendous amount occurs in reaction to humour, it transpires.

Employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a kind of neural imager which indicates which areas of the brain are more active, researchers have been able to chart the regions that receive more blood.

Testing involves imaging the minds of volunteer subjects and then exposing them to a collection of humorous words, accompanied by either a non-emotional sound, or recorded chuckles.

"In the scanner we got a really fascinating pattern of activation," notes the neuroscientist.

A gag stimulates not just the areas of the mind responsible for auditory processing and interpreting speech, but also neural areas involved in both preparation and initiating movement and those linked to sight and memory.

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

The Contagious Nature of Chuckles

Researchers discovered that when a humorous phrase is combined with chuckles there is a stronger reaction in the mind than the same word when accompanied by a neutral sound.

"This was in parts of the brain that you would use to contort your expression into a smile or a chuckle," the professor says.

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

Laughter, says the expert, can be contagious.

So what does this imply for the chuckles heard around a holiday gathering?

"You laugh more when you are familiar with others," she notes, "and you laugh further when you are fond of them or love them."

When it comes to festive cracker puns, she explains, the positive effect is more probable to be caused 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 together."

The Quest for the Ideal Festive Pun

Is it possible to find the perfect joke?

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

Years ago, a professor set up a scientific search for the world's funniest gag.

Over 40,000 jokes submitted, with ratings lodged by hundreds of thousands of participants around the world, he has a clearer idea than most as to what works and what does not.

The ideal festive cracker joke must be short, he explains.

"But they also be poor jokes, jokes that make us moan," he adds.

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

"The reason is that if no-one finds it funny – it's the joke's shortcoming, not your own.

"The fascinating part about the Christmas cracker jokes is that not one person considers them humorous.

"It creates a shared experience around the table and I think it's lovely."