Measure Distance tool: Direct distance vs. Path Net distance

[Craig_Eissler_Iceman]

See screenshot. If I measure between 5 points I get a Path Net Distance of 41.95 miles.

If I measure again, but just go directly from the first point to the last, shouldn't I get the same result?
...because I do not. I get 42.05.

Yes, its very close, but why is it not exact?

[Craig_Eissler_Iceman]

For anyone who cares, I finally received a response from Esri Support that they have decided to log this as a BUG -- because, of course, the direct line from start to end distance should be the same as the Path Net Distance ...but it is NOT.