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

This joke is met by moans that echo through a warehouse in the capital.

We're at a joke-testing session with a company that makes products for gatherings. Its catalogue features festive crackers.

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

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

The secret to a great holiday cracker pun is not the identical as a stand-up gag in itself. It is entirely about the setting - in this case, the communal laughter of the Christmas dinner table with elders, children and potentially friends.

"You want the gag to be a thing that brings the eight-year-old in harmony with the 80-year-old," she adds.

The Science Of Communal Laughter

Coming together to experience communal amusement is not only ancient, experts say, it is likely to be older than humanity.

"Therefore when you are laughing with people around the holiday dinner you are dropping into what's almost certainly a truly ancient mammal social vocalisation," explains a neuroscience expert.

Communal amusement, she explains, aids in forge and strengthen social bonds between people.

Researchers have discovered that a lack of these social exchanges can significantly harm both psychological and bodily health.

"Those you talk to, and laugh with, it results in increased amounts of endorphin release," she continues.

Endorphins are the body's "happy chemicals" and are released both to reduce tension and discomfort and in reaction to enjoyable experiences, such as laughing with loved ones over a truly terrible festive cracker joke.

"You're not just chuckling at a silly pun with a holiday cracker," she says. "You are in fact performing a lot of the truly vital task of building, preserving the connections you have with those you love."

What Occurs Inside the Mind?

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

An awful lot happens in response to humour, it transpires.

Using brain scanning technology, a type of brain scanner which indicates which parts of the mind are more active, researchers have been able to map the areas that receive more blood flow.

The research entails scanning the brains of healthy subjects and then exposing them to a collection of funny phrases, accompanied by either a neutral sound, or pre-recorded chuckles.

"In the scanner we got a very interesting pattern of neural activity," notes the professor.

A joke activates not just the areas of the brain responsible for hearing and interpreting language, but also brain regions involved in both planning and initiating motion and those linked to sight and recall.

Combine all of this together, and people listening to a joke have a sophisticated set of neural reactions that support the laughter we hear.

The Infectious Nature of Chuckles

Researchers discovered that when a funny phrase is paired with laughter there is a stronger response in the mind than the identical word when accompanied by a neutral sound.

"This activation occurred in parts of the brain that you would employ to contort your face into a smile or a laugh," the professor explains.

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

Amusement, says the professor, can be contagious.

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

"People laugh more when you are familiar with people," she says, "and you laugh more when you like them or care for them."

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

"It's the laughter. The joke is the dreadful holiday cracker joke, and it's just a pretext to chuckle together."

The Quest for the Perfect Festive Pun

Is it possible to find the ultimate joke?

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

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

Over 40,000 jokes later, with scores provided by 350,000 participants around the world, he has a clearer idea than many as to what succeeds and what fails.

The perfect Christmas cracker joke must be brief, he says.

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

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

"This is because if no-one finds it funny – it's the gag's fault, not your own.

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

"That's a shared experience around the gathering and I think it's lovely."