BTW, it also comes with a small ceramiic fuse (like a glass fuse) in a
little compartment in the plug. * I wonder why they have that. * I
guess US style plugs are used all over north and south America. *Does
that mean they think some places don't have normal fusing, or do they
think their fan is likely to short?

Thanks everyone.

while the branch circuit breaker may be 15 amps the max current the
fan for instance may ever pul is 2 amps.

so they fuse the item to prevent a fire........