Try this...

Take two 2X4's and place the clamp where indicated. The ends of the 2x4's should be jambed between the floor and the ceiling of the cabin. You can then hang your soaked coat on the handle of the clamp.

Pretty slick, right?

What now seems pretty obvious to you probably wasn't only a few seconds ago. The reason is that we are often blinded to new, creative uses for common objects by something called functional fixedness, a mental set in which we think only of the traditional use of objects. In this example, you probably thought of building something out of the lumber using the tools instead of making a pole out of the objects available.

Can you think of other examples of functional fixedness for other common objects? Can you think of creative ways to use these objects to solve problems?