I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on I go into another room and read a good book.

Groucho Marx (1890–1977), famed for his rapid-fire wit and contrarian one-liners, became a frequent subject of quotation collections in the postwar era as television entered American homes and provoked debate about mass culture and “low” entertainment. This quip reflects that moment: TV was widely discussed as a threat to reading and conversation, and comedians often mined the anxiety for laughs. The line circulated broadly in print quotation anthologies and newspaper columns in the mid-to-late 20th century, typically presented as a Groucho aphorism rather than tied to a single dated performance or interview.

The joke turns on a deliberate reversal: television is “educational” not because of what it shows, but because it drives the speaker away from it and toward books. Groucho’s humor depends on deadpan logic and a quick pivot from apparent praise to dismissal, capturing a skeptical view of passive consumption. Beyond the punchline, the remark stages a cultural hierarchy—reading as active, improving, and private; television as distracting, noisy, and intellectually thin. It also works as a self-portrait of cultivated misanthropy: the speaker prefers solitude and chosen texts to whatever others are watching.

1) “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”
2) “Television is very educational. Whenever anyone turns it on, I go into another room and read.”
3) “I find television very educational—every time someone turns it on, I go and read a book.”