[perl4ever]

That is really neat and counterintuitive, because Shanghai and Oakland are 30-something degrees north latitude, and Anchorage is ~60 degrees north, but the stop adds a remakably small distance.

A direct great circle route still goes over the Aleutians, it seems.

[nkurz]

You probably noticed, but in case others didn't, if you click on the "Globe" icon in the upper right for the links I gave it gives a good sense of the Great Circle, and helps make it clear why it's actually an efficient route.