The Impact of Christmas Cracker Puns Affect Our Brains?

"What was the price did Santa's sled cost? Zero, it was on the house."

This one-liner is met by moans that resonate through a warehouse in London.

This describes a joke-testing session with a firm that produces products for gatherings. Its repertoire features festive crackers.

The firm's owner grins, nearly sheepishly at the gag. But the joke has been selected and will feature in upcoming crackers.

"You measure the gag by the number of moans and the intensity of the groans at the table," she says.

The key to a great Christmas cracker joke is not the same as a good joke in itself. It is all about the setting - in this instance, the communal amusement of the holiday dinner table with elders, kids and potentially neighbours.

"You want the gag to be something that unites the eight-year-old in harmony with the 80-year-old," she states.

The Science Of Communal Amusement

Gathering to enjoy shared laughter is not only ancient, scientists say, it is probably to be pre-human.

"So when you are chuckling with others around the holiday table you are dropping into what's very likely a really ancient mammalian play vocalisation," says a neuroscience expert.

Communal amusement, she explains, aids in make and maintain social connections between individuals.

Researchers have discovered that a absence of these social exchanges can significantly damage both psychological and bodily well-being.

"The people you talk to, and share laughter with, it leads to increased levels of 'happy chemical' uptake," the professor adds.

These natural chemicals are the brain's "happy chemicals" and are produced both to reduce tension and discomfort and in reaction to enjoyable activities, such as chuckling with friends over a particularly awful Christmas cracker gag.

"It's not simply laughing at a foolish joke with a holiday cracker," she says. "You are in fact performing a lot of the truly important work of building, preserving the social bonds you have with the people you love."

Which Happens In the Mind?

But what is actually happening inside the mind when we listen to a gag?

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

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

Testing entails scanning the brains of volunteer participants and then exposing them to a collection of humorous phrases, accompanied by either a neutral sound, or pre-recorded chuckles.

"During the study we got a really fascinating pattern of neural activity," says the professor.

A gag activates not just the areas of the mind responsible for hearing and understanding language, but also neural regions involved in both preparation and initiating movement and those linked to sight and recall.

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

The Contagious Power of Laughter

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

"This was in areas of the brain that you would use to contort your face into a smile or a laugh," the professor explains.

It means people are not just responding to humorous words, they are responding to the amusement that follows them.

Laughter, according to the expert, can be infectious.

So what does this mean for the chuckles found around a Christmas gathering?

"People laugh more when you know people," she notes, "and you laugh further when you are fond of them or care for them."

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

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

The Search for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Will we ever discover the ultimate gag?

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

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

Over 40,000 jokes later, with scores provided by 350,000 participants globally, he has a better idea than most as to what succeeds and what does not.

The ideal Christmas cracker pun needs to be short, he explains.

"But they also be bad jokes, puns that cause us to moan," he continues.

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

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

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

"It creates a common experience at the table and I think it's wonderful."