Good day, bad day: January 2, 2012

GOOD DAY FOR:

Disoriented monkeys

Banana-Sam, a 17-year-old squirrel monkey that was abducted from the San Francisco Zoo late last week, was returned by a man who says he found the animal in some nearby bushes. Police say Banana-Sam was hungry and confused, but unharmed. [San Francisco Chronicle]

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Outdoorsy Scotch enthusiasts

Coming soon to American supermarkets: Whiskey in a can. Starting in February, Scottish Spirits Imports, Inc. hopes to sell 12-ounce cans of its 80-proof Scottish Whiskey for $5 a pop. Critics worry that the canned concoction will encourage binge drinking, but the company's Ken Rubenfeld expressed confidence that consumers will know to sip the drink, not gulp it. [Huffington Post]

Keeping information free

It looks like everyone's favorite crowdsourced encyclopedia will live to see another year. Wikimedia, the non-profit behind Wikipedia, ended its 2011 fundraising campaign with a record $20 million. Those funds will be used to help pay the free site's bills. [Venture Beat]

BAD DAY FOR:

Rams' reputations

Police in Chatham-Kent, Canada say people who fall under the sun sign of Aries may be more likely to become criminals. Local cops report that Aries is the most common zodiac sign among the 1,986 people arrested in the town in 2011. Sagittarius was the least-arrested sign. [TIME]

The Dark Side

Bob Anderson, the swordsman who played Darth Vader during fight scenes in the original Star Wars trilogy, died at the age of 89. Even though his participation in the film was not initially publicized, the former Olympian became minorly famous for his epic light saber battle with Obi Wan Kenobi. [Daily Mail]

Lottery lovers

You can still pay to play, but you'll be paying twice as much. The price of a single Powerball ticket will double to $2 starting January 15. But it's not all bad: Officials insist that the odds of winning one of the giant jackpots in the multistate lottery will actually improve. [Bloomberg Businessweek]