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, BBC 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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