Well, they do say that the device is there to protect the fuse...
http://www.classiccmp.org/acornia/tmp/fuse.jpg
Found in the chassis of an old 'scope. There's actually originally no
provision for a fuse in the 'scope itself - just a circuit breaker - but
quite why someone would take the trouble to cut a wire and then solder both
ends of the same fuse to it, I have no idea.
cheers
Jules