Gearside Design

9 Cool Public JSON Feeds

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Development , ,

Finding fun public JSON feeds to experiment with is surprisingly difficult, so I thought I’d compile a list of as many interesting and useful examples as I could find. This list is for public feeds meaning they do not require an API key. I also focused on the REST architecture. My example usage snippets will be using jQuery for simplicity.

I will be sure to add to this list as I find more cool APIs!

1. JSON IP

Returns the IP address of the visitor. There is no documentation for this because that’s all it does.

JavaScript

$.get(‘http://jsonip.com’, function (json) {
console.log(‘The IP address is: ‘ + json.ip);
});

2. Geo IP

Returns the IP address along with geolocation information like latitude/longitude, city/state, and even ISP. Click here for the documentation.

JavaScript

$.getJSON(‘http://www.telize.com/geoip?callback=?’, function(json) {
console.log(‘The IP address is: ‘ + json.ip);
console.log(‘Latitude: ‘ + json.latitude);
console.log(‘Longitude: ‘ + json.longitude);
});

3. Currency Deflator

Here is a tool that returns the value of the entered currency in 2009 US Dollars. It also gives the exchange rate and other information. Documentation is here. In my example, I am returning the value of $100 in 1986 in the United States.

JavaScript

$.get(‘https://data.itpir.wm.edu/deflate/api.php?val=100USD1986USA&json=true’, function (json) {
console.log(‘Value in 2009 US Dollars: ‘ + json.deflated_amount);
});

4. Bitcoin Value

Here’s one to check Bitcoin value in USD and gold (by weight). Documentation can be found here.

JavaScript

$.get(‘http://coinabul.com/api.php’, function (json) {
console.log(‘Current value in USD: ‘ + json.BTC[0].USD);
});
<h2 id="5-imdb-query"><a href="#5-imdb-query" class="heading-link no-scroll nebula-push click" title="Link to this section..."><i class="fa fa-fw fa-link"></i></a>5. IMDb Query</h2>
Look up movies and TV shows by title or IMDb ID. <a href="http://www.myapifilms.com/" target="_blank">Documentation and request URL helper here.</a>
[pre lang=javascript]$.get(&#8216;http://www.myapifilms.com/search?title=Airplane!&format=JSON&#8217;, function (json) {
console.log(&#8216;IMDb Rating: &#8216; + json.rating);
});

6. Acronym Lookup

This acronym finder can find words based on initials, or vice versa. It is sorted by usage frequency and also returns origin date. Documentation can be found here.

JavaScript

$.get(&#8216;http://www.nactem.ac.uk/software/acromine/dictionary.py?sf=BMI&#8217;, function (json) {
console.log(&#8216;Stands for: &#8216; + json.lfs[0].lf);
console.log(&#8216;Origin: &#8216; + json.lfs[0].since);
});

7. Quantum Random Number Generator

Computers have a hard time generating truly random numbers. This incredibly unique service generates true random numbers by measuring quantum fluctuations of a vacuum in real-time! Documentation can be found here.

JavaScript

$.get(&#8216;https://qrng.anu.edu.au/API/jsonI.php?length=1&type=uint8&#8217;, function (json) {
console.log(&#8216;Random Number: &#8216; + json.data);
});

8. Auto Meme Generator

I really shouldn’t even include this one but I’m sure someone out there would find it useful. It generates a bunch of meme text. Documentation.

JavaScript

$.getJSON(&#8216;http://api.automeme.net/text.json&#8217;, function (json) {
console.log(&#8216;Meme: &#8216; + json[0]);
});

9. Lorem Ipsum Generator

This returns placeholder text in the style of Lorem Ipsum. Documentation is here.

JavaScript

$.get(&#8216;http://lorem-ipsum.me/api/json&#8217;, function (json) {
console.log(json.text);
});

Here are some that I found that seemed cool, but needed an API key (Again, the above list is meant to be just interesting public APIs):

Similar Site Check
TinyPNG
A View From My Seat
Aftership

For a database of even more APIs (that include more than just JSON formats) check out Programmable Web! Do you have a useful feed that I didn’t include? Comment below to add it to the list.

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