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

This joke is greeted with groans that echo through a warehouse in London.

We're at a humor-evaluation session with a company that makes products for social events. Its repertoire includes Christmas crackers.

The company's owner grins, almost sheepishly at the gag. But the pun has made the cut and will appear in future crackers.

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

The key to a good Christmas cracker joke is not the identical as a good gag in itself. It is all about the setting - in this instance, the communal laughter of the holiday dinner table with grandparents, kids and possibly neighbours.

"You want the joke to be something that brings the child together with the grandparent," she adds.

The Science Behind Shared Amusement

Gathering to experience shared amusement is not only ancient, experts argue, it is likely to be older than humanity.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with people around the holiday table you are dropping into what's very likely a really primordial mammal play sound," explains a professor.

Communal laughter, she explains, helps forge and strengthen social bonds between people.

Scientists have discovered that a absence of such interactions can significantly harm mental and physical well-being.

"Those you converse with, and share laughter with, it results in enhanced levels of 'happy chemical' release," she continues.

These natural chemicals are the body's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to alleviate stress and pain and in reaction to pleasurable experiences, such as chuckling with loved ones over a particularly awful Christmas cracker gag.

"You're not just laughing at a silly pun with a Christmas cracker," the expert says. "You are actually doing a lot of the really vital work of building, preserving the social bonds you have with those you love."

Which Occurs In the Mind?

But what is actually taking place inside the brain when we hear a joke?

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

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

Testing involves imaging the brains of volunteer participants and then exposing them to a database of funny words, accompanied by either a non-emotional sound, or pre-recorded chuckles.

"During the study we got a really interesting pattern of neural activity," notes the professor.

A gag activates not just the areas of the brain responsible for hearing and interpreting language, but also brain regions associated with both preparation and initiating movement and those linked to sight and memory.

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

The Infectious Power of Laughter

Researchers discovered that when a humorous word is combined with chuckles there is a stronger response in the mind than the same phrase when accompanied by a non-emotional sound.

"This activation occurred in parts of the mind that you would employ to move your expression into a smile or a chuckle," she explains.

It indicates we are not just responding to humorous jokes, they are reacting to the amusement that accompanies them.

Amusement, says the expert, can be infectious.

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

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

When it comes to Christmas cracker jokes, she explains, the feel-good factor is more likely to be triggered not by the gag itself, but from the reaction to it.

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

The Search for the Ideal Cracker Joke

Will we ever discover the ultimate gag?

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

Years ago, a psychologist set up a research project for the planet's funniest joke.

More than 40,000 jokes submitted, with ratings lodged by hundreds of thousands of participants globally, he has a better understanding than most as to what works and what does not.

The ideal Christmas cracker pun must be short, he says.

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

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

"This is because if no-one laughs – it's the gag's shortcoming, not your own.

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

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