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Each generation thinks their decade is the best. Millennials would say that it's the '90s. For Gen Z — the 2000s. And the often-overlooked Gen Xers will always love the '80s. In the end, it's all about the time when you were a kid, right? Big enough to go to your friend's house by yourself, but young enough to not have to worry about important adult stuff.

And who wouldn't love growing up in the '80s? Mullets, conversations on cord phones, and biking with your friends to the middle of nowhere were quintessential for a true '80s experience. Luckily, the IG page Totally 80's Room shares little snippets of what life was like back then. Scroll down and see the best picks of their content!

Bored Panda reached out to the creator of the page, Pete. He was kind enough to answer our questions and tell us more about his virtual (and physical!) '80s museum. Besides, Totally 80's Room is not just an Instagram page with almost 900k followers. It's also a popular TikTok account with over 2 million likes. Check out our conversation with the creator of the project below!

More info: Instagram | TikTok

Totally 80's Room is not just a platform for memes and nostalgia-inducing content. It’s also actually a room. The creator of the project, Pete, has a room dedicated to all things '80s. "The collection started first with just a few items I remembered from my childhood in the '80s, like toys and games," Pete tells Bored Panda.

"But just like any collector, it kind of snowballs from there with more and more items. I then decided I'd like to collect 1980s popular culture items like music, toys, clothing, electronics, common household items, movie props, etc. to represent the decade. I love to have one clean, great working example of items rather than quantity."

"The social media stuff came second because I wanted to share this collection of not only items but memories, nostalgia, and laughs with as many people as possible," Pete tells us about the inception of the Instagram and TikTok pages. "The feeling of these great memories and nostalgia is powerful and that’s what I enjoy sharing with people."

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Multa Nocte
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Two Great Ones: William "Bill" S. Preston, Esq., and Ted "Theodore" Logan.

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“I was a kid in the 1980s and the pop culture just had an impact on me,” the creator of the Totally 80's Room says about why he chose this decade in particular. “Kids growing up in the 1980s had the best childhood [in my opinion] and it was a great time to be a kid. This decade represents a very unique place in time for culture,” the man behind the pages, Pete, says.

The '80s revival in our current pop culture is going stronger than ever, and Pete says that he loves it, especially in style and musical influences. “It’s a testament to the uniqueness of the era. For me, it’s like having the experience of being a kid in the ’80s and now kind of experiencing the culture as an adult, and that’s exciting.”

Pete says that he likes some of the remakes in TV and movies. Admittedly, they’re not all that good. “But that’s definitely on point with the 1980s,” the creator quips.

“I love searching for and sharing content that gives you a laugh or digs up a memory for someone. There are a lot of younger people interested, and that is awesome, and so everyone is welcome in the totally80sroom universe. The pop culture of the '80 and '90s is so fascinating and influential, it bridges a generation gap, and that is awesome!”

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That 30m or free deal got a lot of kids killed. They were docking the driver's pay if they didn't get there in time. The drivers, mostly teenagers, started taking risks. I was one of the survivors.

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Xitxarel•lo Panda
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

True. Here one of my friends explained that the first day with the tiny motorcycle the manager explained the ones red lights he can pass in red

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Upstaged75
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They had to stop the 30 minutes or less deal because the drivers kept causing serious car accidents to get there in time.

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sbj
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now they've got GPS they still phone you to ask where you live when they're only a street away

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Sheila who?
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And beat the face off any robber who dared try them by giving them a face full of hot pizza! (Happened in my hometown the order got fresh pizza free, I saw it in the paper)

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Mrs.C
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kid from our town was driving for them. Someone called in an order to set him up and killed him.

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Charles McChristy
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had a giant map on the wall, golf pencils, and little scraps of paper to find our way.

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Sue Ellen Jensen
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did this in the late '80s. Never missed the 30 minute guarantee and in fact, on a busy Friday night I could deliver three or four orders on one run. The managers were great at grouping runs in the same neighborhood. The guys didn't like that as a young, blonde woman I got better tips.

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Xitxarel•lo Panda
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A paper map ,for the youngsters, is our Google maps . A thing that one once first time used it's imposible to bender correctly again. I love maps

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Marshmallow Fluff
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now everything is computerize, outrageous delivery fees, and up to an hour and a half delivery times :P Life was so much simpler with delivery back then.

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WJW _
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sadly, I worked for Domino's way back then. Never delivered a late pizza 🍕!

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Me
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've done this job for one summer. Guess both clients and workplace were not sad that I didn't come back- I thought I knew my city well but was soo wrong

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Geoffrey Scott
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Used to have a city delivery route. Glad I had time to route my stops. Couldn't do that under 30 minutes, my props to you.

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Paul Gerrard
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

AND not dump it on the ground and charge you a fee for it to be cold. Back in my day it was free if it took over 15mins. Never happened. Now? Waiting....oh it is on the step

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We call the memes on this list "Gen X Memes," but the cutoff years for when one generation ends and another begins aren't so clear-cut. We know that Gen X is the generation after baby boomers and preceding millennials, but what years were they born exactly? And why are the '80s called their decade?

Most sources claim that Gen Xers were born between the 1960s and the early 1980s. Some pinpoint the beginning of Generation X in 1965, like the Pew Research Center. According to them, Gen X is between 1965 and 1980. Then millennials have 1981 as their starting point, right? Well, some people feel like there is a micro-generation with characteristics of both Gen X and Gen Y.

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troufaki13
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well to be fair people back in the day really did look way older than their actual age!

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They call them Xennials – a portmanteau of 'Gen X' and 'millennials.' For those who like numbers, those born between 1977 and 1983 can call themselves Xennials. Associate Professor of Sociology at The University of Melbourne, Dan Woodman told Mamamia that they're a mix of both generations. If we consider Gen Xers to be "depressed flannelette-shirt-wearing, grunge-listening children," we think of millennials as more bubbly, maybe too optimistic and sure of themselves, and tech-savvy.

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Carl Roberts
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Well, the hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows It's no stranger to you and me" Dun dun dun dun dun dun ...dundun

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Min
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mmmmm...the taste of hot plastic. (I grew up in the desert so it probably hit different for most people)

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Xennials have a little bit of both. "Around technology they do have a particular experience – we hit this social media and IT digital technology boom in our 20s," Woodman said. In their childhood and adolescence, Xennials didn't have to worry about social media and mobile phones. "Then we hit this technology revolution before we were maybe in that frazzled period of our life with kids and no time to learn anything new. We hit it where we could still adopt in a selective way the new technologies," Woodman added.

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Many Xennials sent their first emails upon finishing high school. This doesn't sound familiar either to Gen Xers or millennials: the former didn't have computers yet, and the latter most likely already had an email account when they were kids. Yet Woodman also said that it's normal if not everyone born at that time relates to what it supposedly means to be a Xennial. Such factors as gender and a family's financial situation can play an important role.

We also call Generation X 'latchkey kids.' Why is that, you ask? Gen Xers were born at a time when divorce rates were unusually high and more and more women started entering the workforce. Therefore kids were often left home alone spending time without adult supervision. That's why people often refer to Gen X as the 'MTV Generation,' as many would spend their time in front of a TV watching the music channel.

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Many define Gen Xers as self-reliant and responsible for that reason. It's also why we consider Generation X to be incredibly independent. Many latchkey kids would have to microwave their own dinners, so, as grown-ups, they're used to doing things themselves. It's also why they're excellent DIYers. Because they would spend much time alone at home without parents, they had to learn a lot of things themselves by trial and error, like plunging a toilet.

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MotherofGuineaPigs
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Burgers & fries, ya want some burgers & fries, well there's some right here (don't you tell me no lies!)

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Ban-One
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First Al Bundy here on this list and now Jefferson (I know this pic's not from Married With Children)

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In the never-ending battle of who's more entitled between baby boomers and millennials, Gen Xers somehow always get forgotten. It's no surprise that one of their other names is 'The Forgotten Generation' then. But in this war between the workaholics and the 'lazy youngsters,' Gen X are the winners – they're the "work hard, play hard" generation. They saw how their parents valued company loyalty over anything else and set healthy boundaries. Thanks to only burgeoning technologies, they also weren't available to their bosses 24/7.

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Corvus
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In summer, we sometimes stayed out even after it, just chatting in front of the building where we lived... with only street lights, lit windows on surrounding buildings, and the moon to keep us company.

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However, Gen Xers are also said to be cynical and quite pessimistic. That's mostly because of how the political, economic, and social situation was at the time. There was the AIDS epidemic, the end of the Cold War, the first flight of the space shuttle in 1981, and the U.S. Government's war on drugs. That's why sociologists often describe Gen X as cynical.

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Tracie Ess
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The look on airborne kid's face is "oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t...look cool, act like this was what you meant to happen!!!

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But it wasn't all bad for Gen X in the '80s. It's the decade when gaming was born: the ultimate gaming experience that is the arcade. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Street Fighter, and Donkey Kong were all the rage then. And we still know the games to this day. We can also thank the '80s for portable gaming consoles like Nintendo and Sega. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to save the princess in Super Mario Bros, even though I'm way too young to be an '80s kid.

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Mason Kronol
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep. She gave me nightmares. It was never a beautiful day in her neighborhood. .

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kissmychakram
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Used to take the faceplate off, put it in it's box and stuff the box in the glove compartment. Fairly sure I'm not the only one!

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Ellie H
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every year my grandma asked me about my favorite PBS shows. I talked her ear off about the shows and why I liked each one. I found out a few decades later that she made regular donations to "keep my favorite shows on the air". Still tugs at the heartstrings 💜

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Upstaged75
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We still have the one my grandmother made in the 50's. It was a popular ceramics class.

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Malek Basata
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just like booting that abandoned 10 y/o console and be shocked by the downgrade of graphics since the last time you played on it 😭

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