Why does Google's Geolocation API think that localhost is in Iraq?

Question

Using the geokit gem in irb:

>> Geokit::Geocoders::secure = false
=> false
>> Geokit::Geocoders::MultiGeocoder.geocode("::1").full_address
=> "1, Madain, Iraq"

What the...?

Answer 1

You are geocoding "::1" as an address, which is extremely ambiguous and due to yield anything.

The Geokit gem uses the Geocoding API, which resolves postal addresses into latlng coordinates. This is the API you are actually using: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geocoding/intro

If you want to find coordinates for IP addresses, you need something that talks to a Geolocation API, such a Google's. This is what you need: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geolocation/intro

The only IP address this API will let you geolocation is your own, and that means the public IP you'll see when visiting http://whatismyip.com