Numlock News: April 6, 2026 • Mario, Bonvoy, Artemis
By Walt Hickey
Welcome to something we’re calling Tell A Friend About Numlock Week. Word-of-mouth is the single biggest contributing factor to people finding out about this thing, especially as social media disintegrates. We try not to ask a lot here at Numlock, but this week we’re going to ask that if you like this thing, tell a friend who might like it and encourage them to sign up! It really makes a huge difference.
Mario
In news that should come as little surprise, plumbers make a lot of money. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opened to an estimated $372.5 million globally, bringing in $190.1 million domestically and $182.4 million overseas over the five-day weekend. With nothing major on the calendar until that Michael Jackson biopic at the end of the month, Mario is expected to keep racking up coins for the next couple of weeks; the first movie made $1.36 billion globally. The impressive thing is that this movie still manages to connect with audiences despite covering a rather obscure element of the Mario lore. Producers have held the single most beloved character in the Mario mythos, Waluigi, on the bench, specifically the bench of a tennis center or golf course where his talents are most formidable.
Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter
IOU
While hotel loyalty points that customers accumulate are seen as a nice perk to be cashed in for travel down the line, in the aggregate, they’re a massive piece of the balance sheet of major hotel chains. The companies have to literally account for the fact that they technically owe their customers money. This adds up: seven large hotel groups collectively own $11.6 billion to their guests, squirreled away across millions of loyalty accounts, redeemable at some point down the line. Marriott owes its 271 million Bonvoy guests $3.99 billion in the aggregate, Hilton owes its 243 million members $2.91 billion, IHG $1.73 billion and Hyatt $1.53 billion — all in perks redeemable at some point down the line. The problem is that customers rack up points faster than they can burn them. The gap at Marriott between points earned and points cashed in was $473 million last year. Given the sheer size of the programs, it’s expected that hotels are eventually going to pull off the same fiscal maneuvers that the airlines did, like when Delta raised $9 billion in financing during the pandemic that was backed up by the health of the SkyMiles program.
Discourse
A new survey found that 51 percent of Americans reported being in a relationship with an age gap of five years or more. That was a considerably easier gap to overcome than other dissimilarities that a couple may have; 39 percent said they had been in a relationship with someone of a different religion, and 39 percent said they had been in a relationship with someone of a different race or ethnicity. Just 28 percent said they had been in a relationship with someone who was 12 inches taller or shorter than they were. 29 percent said they had been in a relationship with someone in a different state or country. Just 24 percent said they had been in a relationship with someone affiliated with a different political party.
Aluminum
The Middle East is responsible for nine percent of global aluminum. With the chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz as well as direct attacks on the plants that produce the metal, the ongoing war has taken much of that product off the board. Emirates Global Aluminum has indicated it may take a year to restore full output at its Abu Dhabi plant, which was struck in an Iranian attack. This means that the plant responsible for 1.6 million tons of cast metal will be offline for an estimated 12 months.
Chasing Cars
China has become the largest exporter of automobiles in a very short time, and by far. In 2020, the country exported just 1.08 million cars, well behind Japan (then the leader at 3.74 million), Germany (3.49 million), Mexico (2.68 million), Korea (2.40 million) and the United States (1.46 million autos exported). Five years later, and it’s a very different story. China exported 7 million cars in 2025, fueled by affordable EVs, some of which are priced below $10,000. Runner-up Japan exported 4.10 million. The U.S. was down to 1.30 million, thanks in part to the trade war upending supply chains. Not to mention American automakers doubling down on their most profitable models (SUVs and trucks) that don’t sell well outside the United States and often lack the fuel economy standards to even compete in other markets.
Houses
The median home in the United States is at a record 44 years old, as new unit construction is still well shy of what it had been in the past. One ramification of this is that it’s getting more expensive to maintain those homes. The average homeowner in the United States spent $9,030 on replacement projects in 2023, up 59 percent from 2009.
Veronica Dagher, The Wall Street Journal
Moon
A little before 7 p.m. Eastern Time today, the crew of the Artemis II mission will enter a 40-minute radio and laser signal blackout. Why? To use some astronomical technical jargon, the Moon is in the way. It’ll be one of those tense-but-peaceful moments, and everyone will be very eager to hear from the astronauts once they’re on the other side of this thing. They will be further from the Earth than any other astronaut has been, and will whip around the Moon in order to get Earth’s satellite to yeet them gently back home.
Rebecca Morelle, Alison Francis and Kevin Church, BBC News
These days, the single most reliable way for people to discover a book, movie, or newsletter they might enjoy is a personal recommendation. If you enjoy Numlock, this week it’d mean a lot if you told a friend about it:
Send links to me on Twitter at @WaltHickey or email me with numbers, tips or feedback at walt@numlock.news. Send corrections or typos to the copy desk at copy@numlock.news.
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