How Do Christmas Cracker Puns Affect The Brain?

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

This joke is met by moans that resonate through a storage facility in the capital.

This describes a joke-testing meeting with a company that produces supplies for social events. Its repertoire features Christmas crackers.

The company's owner smiles, nearly apologetically at the gag. But the pun has made the cut and will feature in future crackers.

"You measure the gag by the number of groans and the loudness of the groans around the table," she says.

The secret to a good Christmas cracker joke is not the identical as a stand-up gag per se. It is all about the setting - in this case, the communal laughter of the Christmas dinner table with grandparents, kids and possibly friends.

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

The Science Of Shared Laughter

Gathering to enjoy shared amusement is not only nothing new, experts argue, it is likely to be pre-human.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with people around the Christmas table you are engaging in what's very likely a really ancient mammalian play vocalisation," says a neuroscience expert.

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

Researchers have found that a lack of such interactions can significantly damage both psychological and bodily well-being.

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

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

"It's not simply chuckling at a foolish joke with a holiday cracker," the expert states. "You are actually doing a lot of the truly vital work of building, preserving the social bonds you have with those you care about."

Which Happens In the Brain?

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

A tremendous amount happens in response to comedy, it turns out.

Using brain scanning technology, a kind of brain scanner which shows which areas of the mind are more active, scientists have been able to chart the regions that receive more blood.

Testing entails scanning 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.

"During the study we got a very fascinating pattern of neural activity," notes the neuroscientist.

A joke activates not just the parts of the mind in charge of auditory processing and interpreting language, but also brain areas associated with both preparation and initiating movement and those involved in sight and memory.

Put these elements as a whole, and individuals hearing a joke have a sophisticated series of neural reactions that support the amusement we experience.

The Infectious Nature of Laughter

Scientists found that when a humorous word is paired with chuckles there is a greater reaction in the mind than the same phrase when accompanied by a neutral sound.

"This activation occurred in areas of the mind that you would employ to move your face into a smile or a chuckle," the professor explains.

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

Laughter, according to the professor, can be infectious.

So what does this mean for the chuckles found at a holiday table?

"People laugh harder when you are familiar with people," she notes, "and you laugh more when you are fond of them or care for them."

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

"The laughter is key. The gag is the dreadful Christmas cracker pun, and it's just a pretext to chuckle together."

The Search for the Ideal Festive Pun

Will we ever discover the ultimate gag?

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

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

More than 40,000 gags later, with scores lodged by 350,000 people globally, he has a better idea than many as to what works and what fails.

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

"They must also be poor jokes, jokes that cause us to groan," he adds.

The more "terrible" the joke, he states the better.

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

"What's interesting about the holiday cracker jokes is that not one person considers them humorous.

"That's a shared experience around the table and I believe it's lovely."