‘I fear me and my husband might become millionaires’: It rains. Then a woman takes a look at the ground in her backyard

A woman made a discovery in her backyard that would be troubling if it weren't so exciting.

The video documenting the strange occurrence came from creator Lauren (@llaurenray), getting more than 6 million views.

She sets the scene by standing in her backyard, remarking, "I fear me and my husband might become millionaires. I think there's oil in our backyard, but I may be mistaken."

"I just need somebody to confirm for me before I call the police," she adds, before showing off several wet black patches in a small backyard. (Though she didn't reveal her location, the Texas Longhorns logo hanging from her fence may "narrow it down" to the Lone Star State.)

"Before you get all your ideas, let me show you this," she continues after doing a general show-and-tell, then zooming in on part of the puddle, which is translucent with a rainbow sheen—possibly another clue that she's stumbled upon fossil fuels.

She wonders, "Who do I call for that?" before marveling at the discovery and then noting water near the oil in a corner of her yard, visiting the maxim "oil and water don't mix."

What do you do if you find oil in your backyard?

So, if you make a discovery like Lauren's, you can't just put up an oil derrick and start stacking cash.

According to several sites, including Pheasant Energy, you first have to determine if you have mineral rights to your land.

"Traditionally, mineral rights and surface rights were tied to the land, and the original landowner owned both," that site explains. "However, it is possible for both rights to have been severed. The legal owner may have decided to sell the mineral rights to one person and the property rights to another. By the time you purchase the land, the rights to access mineral resources might have already been sold to someone else."

While property owners may have those rights—the deed is the first place you should look—you may need to enlist a title company or even a lawyer to make that determination.

If you do indeed own the mineral rights, Texas Horizons Law Group lays out three options:

• Seek an oil and gas lease, which lets a company extract oil from your land for compensation.
• Sell the mineral rights to your property.
• Become directly involved in the development of your property, coordinating with an oil and gas company.

What people thought

The video stirred up excitement for a number of viewers.

"Girl that’s soy sauce," quipped one. "Move out & sell it to me; I’ll handle it."

"I knew you looked familiar. Heyyyy cousin," said another.

But more than a few people mentioned mineral rights and were concerned she was going public with her news.

"Pull this video," counseled another. "They can tap oil in your neighbors back yard and leave you out of the deal. Call 3 attorneys and find out what the laws are in your area. You need to secure your mineral rights!"

"Call a lawyer to situate your property properly!!!" another cautioned.

"Make sure you actually own the mineral rights to the property. Otherwise it’s worthless to you," one stated.

But someone else remarked, "Technically not worthless. Whether she owns rights or not it’s still her land if she owns it. No one can do a thing about it until they own both."

And, of course, one evoked a classic TV show with an oil discovery at the center of a family's origin story.

"I knew this guy named Jed who was so poor and could barely feed his family and he struck oil one day shootin at some food. They moved from the mountains to Beverly Hills," one commenter said, referencing the 1962 sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies.

@llaurenray

TELL ME IF IM A MILLIONAIRE

♬ original sound - Lauren

The Daily Dot has reached out to Lauren via email and TikTok direct message.

Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post ‘I fear me and my husband might become millionaires’: It rains. Then a woman takes a look at the ground in her backyard appeared first on The Daily Dot.

dailynoti coindeskcrypto cryptonewscrypto bitcoinmymagazine mybitcoinist cryptowithpotato mycryptoslate fivenewscrypto findtechcrunch journalpayments nulltxcrypto newsbtcarea