My silence is just a sign of my bafflement, which remains unbroken.
It looks like Ken Arnold designed it, right after he spotted his UFO (does anyone else think he might have seen Hortens being tested in the US?)
I like the 220 twinjets, maybe they might have sold a few if McDonnell had done it themselves? Lockheed went the other way, I remember, turning the jetstar from a twin to a four holer like a mini VC10