You've got me; I learned to cook without watching TV. I also learned to iron (I like cotton shirts, and dislike looking like I've slept in my clothes) and sew (buttons only, thank you) the same way.

I do remember the Galloping Gourmet burning himself quite badly in one of his shows (he did something like pouring water into hot oil. This violated cooking rule 1: don't pour water into hot oil, because the water will flash into steam, and the oil will spatter everywhere.)