I’m very excited to introduce, for the sixth time, a new segment here at RamseyEss.com: Famous Hamsters in History (brought to you by State Farm Insurance)!

Let me just get this out of the way: not football. Thank you.

In the year 1849, California had contracted a fever: gold fever (also known as “yellow fever” which decimated the French army during the 1802 Haitian revolts). More than 300,000 men and women migrated for California seeking fortune: and one notable hamster.

Pudgey, like many others, left his home in Maryland in 1849. While the cross-country trip was much longer and more intense than it would be in the modern era, due to the hamster’s shorter lifespan, Pudgey arrived in California five hamster years older.

Once there, Pudgey discovered that the Gold Rush hype had been built far too high and was a little late to the party. However, he is remembered today for being the first hamster to ingest gold, confusing it for corn. After enough time passed, Pudgey “stuck it to the man” and happily retrieved his $1.00 in cold hard cash. He would follow this process for the next sixth months.

Unfortunately, after all his hardships Pudgey was disheartened to remember that hamsters have no use for money and returned home with fifteen dollars worth of pressed alfalfa. He died the next month from complications involving the common cold. (HAMSTER CARE FACT: Hamsters are one of the few domesticated animals that can contract the common cold. If you have a cold you should not handle your hamster. Careful!)