The Assembly Line

An innovation that transformed commerce, generally credited to Henry Ford, who indeed created

the moving version to manufacture his company's Model T. But its precursor, the Static Assembly

Line, was the invention of ransom Eli Olds, the founder of Oldsmobile.

In 1926, Olds, flushed with cash from his pioneering automotive brand, began operating

the new Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida.

Driving in its time, the hotel was decrepit by the 70s, and in 1975 was acquired by

the innocuous sounding Southern Land Development and Leasing Corp.

This company turned out to be a front for Elron Hubbard's Church of Scientology, and so

Olds Hotel became flag land base, the spiritual headquarters of the most controversial modern

religious movement.

But it's not the only controversial organization headquartered in Clearwater, Florida.

In 1983, a half-dozen businessman and restaurant industry neo-fights opened an eatery centered

on a concept mostly foreign to food service, sex appeal.

The restaurant slung its signature wings, but its real attraction was breasts, and not

the chicken variety, but rather the bucsum young waitresses and tight tops and short shorts

who transparently flirted with male customers.

The calendar model staff attracted throngs of horn-grim-men, as well as accusations of

sexism, including the legal variety, when aspiring male employees later sued for hiring

discrimination.

Today, the original restaurant boasts over 400 worldwide locations, as well as its own

hotel in Las Vegas.

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