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

This one-liner is greeted with groans that echo through a storage facility in the capital.

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

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

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

The secret to a great Christmas cracker joke is not the identical as a stand-up gag per se. It is entirely about the context - in this case, the shared amusement of the Christmas meal with grandparents, children and potentially neighbours.

"You want the gag to be something that unites the child in harmony with the grandparent," she states.

The Neuroscience Behind Communal Amusement

Gathering to experience shared amusement is not only ancient, experts argue, it is likely to be pre-human.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with others around the holiday table you are dropping into what's very likely a truly ancient mammal play vocalisation," explains a professor.

Shared amusement, she explains, helps make and maintain social connections between people.

Scientists have discovered that a absence of these interactions can seriously harm mental and physical health.

"The people you converse with, and share laughter with, it leads to enhanced amounts of 'happy chemical' release," she continues.

These natural chemicals are the body's "happy chemicals" and are produced both to alleviate stress and pain and in response to pleasurable activities, such as chuckling with friends over a particularly awful Christmas cracker joke.

"You're not just chuckling at a foolish pun with a holiday cracker," the expert says. "You are actually doing a lot of the really vital work of making, maintaining the connections you have with those you care about."

Which Occurs In the Brain?

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

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

Using brain scanning technology, a type of brain scanner which shows which areas of the brain are working harder, scientists have been able to map the areas that receive more blood flow.

Testing involves scanning the brains of volunteer subjects and then subjecting them to a collection of funny words, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or pre-recorded laughter.

"In the scanner we observed a very fascinating pattern of neural activity," says the neuroscientist.

A gag activates not just the parts of the mind responsible for auditory processing and understanding language, but also neural areas involved in both planning and starting motion and those involved in sight and recall.

Put all of this together, and individuals hearing a pun have a sophisticated series of neural responses that support the amusement we hear.

The Infectious Power of Chuckles

Scientists found that when a humorous word is combined with chuckles there is a greater reaction in the brain than the same word when followed by a neutral sound.

"This was in parts of the brain that you would use to move your expression into a grin or a chuckle," she explains.

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

Amusement, says the expert, can be infectious.

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

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

When it comes to festive cracker puns, she says, the positive factor is more likely to be triggered not by the gag itself, but from the response to it.

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

The Search for the Perfect Festive Pun

Will we ever find the ultimate gag?

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

In 2001, a psychologist set up a scientific project for the planet's funniest gag.

Over tens of thousands of gags submitted, with scores provided 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 pun must be brief, he says.

"They must also need to be poor jokes, puns that make us moan," he continues.

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

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

"What's interesting about the Christmas cracker puns is that not one person considers them funny.

"It creates a common moment around the gathering and I think it's lovely."