I know the feeling. In my case, it’s from “the maps just show a coincidence,” to plate tectonics. And from canals on Mars to actual landings. I remember the first close up pictures of the moon that were radioed back to earth just seconds before the rocket slammed into the lunar surface which was not, sorry sci-fi, covered in dust.
I don’t know if my high school was behind but I had never heard of plate tectonics until I took a college geology course. It was one of the true Aha! moments in my life.