One Dollar, 145 Ways Screensaver
The One Dollar, 145 Ways screensaver ranks the world's currencies by how many units one US dollar buys, from the full published cross-rate table rather than the usual half-dozen majors. It puts the currencies quoted in tens of thousands next to those quoted in fractions. It runs in the browser with nothing to install; press ESC to exit.
How the One Dollar, 145 Ways screensaver works
The saver reads FloatRates' daily published cross-rate feed, key-free.
No account and no key: the request goes straight from your browser, or from this site's own refreshed copy of the feed where the source does not allow browser access.
Values are drawn on a canvas that resizes with the window, so it works on a laptop or a wall display.
If the source is unreachable the saver says so on screen rather than showing stale numbers as though they were current.
A worked example
Sixteen currencies with the largest units-per-dollar figures, each with its code, name and rate. Bars are scaled logarithmically, because otherwise the largest entry would flatten every other bar to invisibility. A rate in the tens of thousands usually reflects a currency that has been through sustained inflation and never redenominated, rather than a judgement about the economy today.
Settings & tips
- Accent and Background recolour the display without changing the data.
- Add it to a Multi-view grid to watch it alongside other live savers.
- Press ESC at any time to leave fullscreen.
Frequently asked questions
- Why are the bars logarithmic?
- Because the range spans several orders of magnitude. On a linear scale the largest currency would fill the width and every other bar would be a sliver, which would hide the comparison the chart exists to make.
- How current are these rates?
- The feed publishes daily. It is a reference rate suitable for comparison, not a dealable price — a bank or broker will quote you something different, with a spread.
- Is this real data?
- Yes. It comes from FloatRates' daily published cross-rate feed, key-free. Nothing is invented or simulated, and if the source cannot be reached the saver reports that instead of drawing something plausible.
- Does it cost anything or need an account?
- No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up. This one uses a public API that requires no key.