Episode details

Radio London,5 mins
What do Christmas cracker jokes do to our brains?
Available for over a year
Christmas Crackers have been a part of our Christmas tables for hundreds of years. But how are they made, and what unexpected role does the joke play? As Christmas Day fast approaches, Âé¶¹Éç London’s Stephen Menon decided to find out. His journey took him to Talking Tables in Lambeth, a Christmas Cracker manufacturer, where he sat in on a joke testing session. But humans aren’t the only animal which laughs – according to scientists, laughter is hugely important for building and maintaining social bonds. Director of the UCL Institute for Cognitive neuroscience Professor Sophie Scott shared more with Stephen. (Image credit: Getty Images)
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