Golden hamster stock of hamsters was exported from Syria to the United States in 1971, but apparently none of today's North American pets is descended from these (at least in the female line), because recent mitochondrial DNA studies have established that all domestic golden hamsters are descended from one female – probably the one captured in 1930 in Syria. Since the species was named, the genus "Cricetus" has been subdivided and this species (together with several others) was separated into the genus "Mesocricetus", leading to the currently accepted scientific name for the golden hamster of "Mesocricetus auratus". Following Professor Aharoni's collection in
In the Middle of the House quite popular in the UK as it was covered by Alma Cogan (# 20), Jimmy Parkinson (# 20) and the Johnston Brothers (# 27). All versions were in the UK charts simultaneously in November 1956. In the Middle of the House "In the Middle of the House" is a novelty song written by Bob Hilliard. It was performed by Vaughn Monroe and separately by Rusty Draper in 1956. Each was released as a single. Monroe's version reached number 11 on "Billboard" Magazine's Most Played by Jockeys chart and number 21 on the magazine's Top 100 chart in September 1956. Draper's