Now 5,000+ events and 20,000+ talks strong, TEDx’s “x” has made its way to some marvelously unexpected places. From the staircase of a full-size reproduction of the Titanic to a base camp in Antarctica, TEDx venues are far from ordinary. Below, nine of our favorite venues from TEDx events past.

What would a great wonder of the world be without a TEDx? At TEDxGreatWall in 2011, TEDx’ers took over the Jinshanling section of the Chinese landmark, marking this historic landscape with ideas worth spreading.

Looking like a cross between a UFO and an amusement park ride, TEDxBrainport’s venue might have had its audience thinking “aliens” at first. Located in the tech-savvy Brainport Eindhoven region of The Netherlands, TEDxBrainport’s former science museum locale easily set the scene for visions of the future.

At TEDxAsunción, the city was a venue. While officially held at the Universidad Columbia del Paraguay in Asunción City, the event had legs, as giant screens brought the evening to the city streets — to the delight of TEDx fans and passersby alike.

For two years, TEDxBlackRockCity has brought TEDx to the desert. Taking place during the annual Burning Man festival, TEDxBlackRockCity presents the best ideas that this radical community of artists, innovators, creatives and freethinkers has to offer.

For their 2012 event, TEDxBelfast brought TEDx to the newly-opened Titanic Belfast, a museum-cum-Titanic-replica located just 100 yards away from where the ship itself was built. Appropriately titled “Titanic Ideas,” TEDxBelfast dazzled attendees in front of a stunning recreation of the ship’s infamous Grand Staircase.

Which ideas are shared best at 18,000 feet? TEDxEverest knows well. Held during a snowy weekend at the base of the highest mountain in the world, this TEDx event brought the TED message to new heights.

TEDxPalermo took place at the Nautoscopio, a modern treehouse able to be raised or lowered at notice. Designed by architect Giuseppe Amato as a “mobile think-tank” for the best and brightest worldwide, the Nautoscopio made a perfect place for Italian TEDx’ers to explore ideas worth spreading.

The first TEDx in a Box event to be held in Ecuador, TEDxCuria was created for local children in La Curia, a small town on the country’s coast. Talks were broadcast on an oceanside screen built by the local community — thanks to donations by an area non-profit.

And finally — in a 14th-century Gothic cellar in the heart of Kraków’s Old Town —TEDxKrakówLive brought TED in California to TEDx in Poland. Complete with digital projectors in three of the cellar’s chambers, and refreshments in the fourth, this tiny club was an ideal place to watch ideas come alive from across the world, say organizers.

Stay tuned to the TED Blog all this week for a celebration of TEDx or, if you’re curious, check out the TEDx blog.