I have a hand sculpted human skull I use for this purpose. It makes me feel all cool and evil. But seriously, the act of formulating a thorough explanation of a problem often leads to its solution. Try it, if inanimate objects are not your thing, get a patient significant other or friend (or maybe another programmer if you are lucky) who will let you half explain a problem until you have that epiphany and run off to fix it.
I've found the most effective way to work through a problem is to have to explain it to my wife (who has no programming background). It works wonderfully.
I'm torn. Sharing this with coworkers would help them boost productivity, but I'd have to hear them talk to themselves all the time.